Home Recent posts Popular posts Categories and themes Linklog About this site

Who benefits financially from the Madeleine McCann publicity juggernaut?

Written by Martin Belam
Published 1 June, 2007
Categories: Children and Teenagers, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Media, Newspapers, Search, The Times

<< previous | next >>
2 comments so far
Add your comment

I noticed towards the end of this week that, alongside the rumours of journalist frolics in Portugal whilst following the Madeleine McCann case, a couple of columnists have broken rank with the default position of their newspaper.

Today on The Time's site Stefanie Marsh has been called "a very lonely, sad, selfish person" for her piece "I confess: I have not been agonising about Madeleine". There has been disquiet expressed in the Telegraph, and yesterday it was Amanda Platell writing in the Daily Mail with "For Madeleine's sake, beware the juggernaut of publicity"

She fared better than Marsh. Platell's article has attracted over 50 comments from the Mail's online readership, the majority of which seem to be supportive of her arguments.

Of course, it isn't just the McCann's driving the media - commercial interest is at stake here as well.

As illustrated by the awkward juxtaposition today in the Daily Mail's search results, listing Platell's sensible article alongside a promotion for the paper's Madeleine photo gallery.

Posted by Martin Belam, June 1, 2007
Read the latest posts about: Children and Teenagers, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Media, Newspapers, Search, The Times
The views expressed on currybetdotnet are my own, and do not reflect the views of Guardian News and Media Limited, or any current or former clients or employers. Read my blogging principles
Get free updates via RSS Get free updates by email Follow Martin Belam on Twitter

2 comments so far

Paulo Reis commented on June 1, 2007:

Sir,

Apart from those "interesting" events, British Media's work on Madeleine's abduction has been, in my humble opinion, characteristic of people who has a strong prejudice (almost racial, at least cultural)against Portuguese Police (and Portuguese people, of course...). Portuguese Police officers are "clowns", wrote Jan Moir, Telegraph.com
"most news published by Portuguese Press, about Madeleine's case are "culhoes" - one of the most obscene words, in Portuguese, meaning "testicles" (Martin Brunt, Sky News - http://skynews4.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/source_of_sourc.html) are two of many examples. I've been reporting and blogging, from Praia da Luz, between May 14 and May 23. I've seen what that pack of howling blood-thirsty British tabloid journalists, willing to kill – or let someone be killed – to have a story (again, in my humble opinion...), has been doing, in their spare time, at Praia da Luz...

Regards

Paulo Reis
Journalist (Press Card nº 734)
Email: [I don't publish emails addresses - Martin]
Gazeta Digital - News and Opinion in English, Portuguese and Chinese
URL: http://gazetadigital.blogspot.com/
Personal Blog: "Zero Tolerance for Killer Dogs"
http://caesassassinos.blogspot.com/

sarah,stacey,leah,lee,vicky,laura,grant,lewis,chris commented on October 1, 2007:

why wud some one a wee girl tht just said! please who ever took madeleine let her go bak to her lovely famliy hope ya find her love sarah n stacey and some of our mates xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx we wish u wud just let her go

Comments are closed across the site whilst I take a break. You can still contact me directly.

Search this site

Get free updates

Talks & presentations

"Journalism in the digital age"
I'll be appearing on a panel with Sarah Hartley and Iain Hepburn at the Edinburgh International Science Festival on Sunday April 11th. More details...

Posts of the moment

Day of the Triffids
If everyone suddenly went blind, how long would the Internet survive, and could you still publish news on it?

With professionals of this quality, who needs 'citizen journalist' enemies?
It is hard to argue that ethics and quality set the 'professional journalist' apart from the amateur blogger, if the 'professional' keeps publishing articles so wrong that they have to be deleted.