A Lost Child

[taylor]

We all know Maddies Story.

 

My point is (and I imagine criticism is going to follow)

 

The world is full of lost children, Are the press elevating Maddies story for their own gain ? I hate the way they papers grab one thing and forget the rest of humanity, At the end of the day why are so many people following Maddies tale yet turning off child abuse/ neglect adverts because they are so distressing? How many people worrying about Maddie reguarly donate to the NSPCC ?

 

She is lost !

In africa one child starves to death every 2 seconds!

Another provides care for an alcohol or drug dependent parent

Yet another is deprived of their childhood by an older relative, in so many ways!

And most controversial yet ! another is "bred" by a mother that sees having a child as an alternative option to going out to work (they exist)

 

So why is Maddies hell so different to any of these other kids ?

[K9Fran]

We saw the same thing with Soham........ The media recognises a good thing when they see it - Princess Diana was the Golden Goose in this respect.

[phoebejo]

I saw someone on the news yesterday, I think it was the Archbishop Of Canterbury, and he'd recently visited Sri Lanka. He said there and in many other countries children were abducted on a daily basis never to be seen again. He said "let us not forget those".

 

An interesting piece on Wikipedia on the subject of Missing White Woman Syndrome. It mentions Madeleine Mccann.

[Ian]

We all know Maddies Story.

 

My point is (and I imagine criticism is going to follow)

 

The world is full of lost children, Are the press elevating Maddies story for their own gain ? ........

 

There are I think elements of truth in what you say. However I'd suggest the difference in these cases is that a child in Africa etc is faceless and name less so people find it easy to look the other way. Only when a major crisis like Kosovo for or the Mozambique floods occurs do the Charities move in and faces start to appear. People then do give support. Sadly when the grants dry up many of the Charities leave again and those children fade back into oblivion. Sadly for many of these families the struggle goes on. I used to work for an aid Charity & in many of these countries families live for a month on less than we'd spend on a night out.

 

Madelaine, Holly & Jessica were all here, British, names and faces were readily available and ultimately an outcome was to be expected. Do the media exploit it for sale of newspapers & advertising? Maybe in some respects but lets not forget that that publicity is also what either finds these children or at least often helps bring their killers to justice.

Edited May 17, 2007 by Ian

[Jakeysmum]

I read in the paper yesterday 400 plus kids have gone missing here since this little girl. As a mum I sincerely hope she is found, but I hate the media frenzy, the pictures of her distraught mum and the public 'ownership' of it, if you see what I mean x

[murtle]

There are I think elements of truth in what you say. However I'd suggest the difference in these cases is that a child in Africa etc is faceless and name less so people find it easy to look the other way. Only when a major crisis like Kosovo for or the Mozambique floods occurs do the Charities move in and faces start to appear. People then do give support. Sadly when the grants dry up many of the Charities leave again and those children fade back into oblivion. Sadly for many of these families the struggle goes on. I used to work for an aid Charity & in many of these countries families live for a month on less than we'd spend on a night out.

 

Madelaine, Holly & Jessica were all here, British, names and faces were readily available and ultimately an outcome was to be expected. Do the media exploit it for sale of newspapers & advertising? Maybe in some respects but lets not forget that that publicity is also what either finds these children or at least often helps bring their killers to justice.

 

Lots of other children go missing in the UK though, it's not just the "abroad" ones that aren't picked up by the media......

 

Causes a lot of desensitisation (sp?) when you see it day in day out....I wish they would report news and not just stuff to sell papers that isn't news....

 

x x

[sproggie14]

I think you raise a good point. The amount of coverage something gets just depends on whether anything "better" is happening on that day.

 

What about the journalist missing in Gaza, or the soldiers killed in Iraq. All put themselves in risky situations for us and don't get anything like the same coverage.

[cycas]

The world is full of lost children, Are the press elevating Maddies story for their own gain ?

 

Yes, of course they are. The press are completely untrustworthy when it comes to dramatic crime stories of this sort. They will use any trick to get information from emotionally vulnerable and terribly worried people, and what they cannot get from a 'character in the story' - not really a witness, you can be a 'character' even if you were several hundred miles away at the time - they simply make up. I have personal experience of this and believe me, they will do anything for a scoop. They will lie, and tell you the police sent them to do an interview for reasons that seem plausible. They will make personal, inaccurate and hurtful comments about irrelevant matters - job, the value of a house, education. They make the process of grieving incredibly hard for bereaved relatives.

 

The press is a monster, when it comes to crime. For heavens sake, don't buy newspapers for crime stories, and don't believe anything they write if it isn't a direct quote from someone that is likely to sue them for getting it wrong.

[merledogs]

I was saying the exact same thing to someone at work yesterday - whilst I think it's good she's getting so much coverage, it's a shame that the press don't do the same for every child that goes missing

[ingipops]

I was saying the exact same thing to someone at work yesterday - whilst I think it's good she's getting so much coverage, it's a shame that the press don't do the same for every child that goes missing

I had exactly the same conversation yesterday

[cheryl33]

I was chatting to my dad about this yesterday and he's a copper. He said the majority of kids who go missing in the UK normally turn up within 24 hours and are runaways.

 

I think the case with Madeleine she is a toddler, very unlikely to have wandered off and in a foreign country.

 

I think charity begins at home as well

Edited May 18, 2007 by cheryl33

[kimthecat]

We all know Maddies Story.

She is lost !

In africa one child starves to death every 2 seconds!

Another provides care for an alcohol or drug dependent parent

Yet another is deprived of their childhood by an older relative, in so many ways!

And most controversial yet ! another is "bred" by a mother that sees having a child as an alternative option to going out to work (they exist)

 

So why is Maddies hell so different to any of these other kids ?

 

She is missing , possible murdered , possible being abused. I would think her parents are doing things to keep the press and public interested so she has more chance of being found.

There are many bad things in this world and sadly its not possible to mention the things in your list all of the time but these subjects are brought up in the media even if they're not always fron page news.

I remember the headlines in the 60s of the starving children in Biafra . I remember the Daily Mirror headlines about maria colwell who was murdered by her stepfather in the 70s and their campaign to protect children like her. Joh pilger bringing attention to the murderous Pol pot regime in Cambodia .

All these things had an impact on the public and people tried to help.

 

The press can be b*stards but they can do alot of good too.

Alison

[Ian]

The press is a monster, when it comes to crime. For heavens sake, don't buy newspapers for crime stories, and don't believe anything they write if it isn't a direct quote from someone that is likely to sue them for getting it wrong.

 

 

And sometimes not even if it's "quoted"! Thankfully I've never had to deal with the press in a crime context. I have however been quoted on voluntary & occasionally on work activities in the past - sometimes the quote just wasn't quite accurate - naybe just a matter of editing? Others however they'd used by name because I was indeed connected with the appeal along with the particular media but the quote was completely made up to promote the event and themselves.

 

To be fair however I'd have said this sort of thing is generally lazy journalism on the more trivial aspects or stories. I would hope that in a case as sensitive as Madelaines they would be much less so.

 

Ultimately we can of course all influence what the press does or doesn't print - they print what they believe we will buy. They aim to make money not provide a free service.

Edited May 18, 2007 by Ian

[taylor]

Im sorry guys but I have to point out that this story is getting far too publicised now. I actually do not know anyone that thinks otherwise. And whats the pope gonna do ?

How many british teenagers have been killed in combat this year alone ... i would commend anyone that knew without looking it up

What about their moms and dads , they have all lost a baby too.

[Mrs Mop]

This child is getting the publicity because it is what the parents want, they want to keep this in the public eye in the hope that she will be found alive. We have seen this with lost dogs, if the publicity can get out fast enough and plenty of it, the dogs are found abandoned because it is too hot for the people who stole them.

 

People deal with things in many different ways, some wouldn't want any publicity, others like her parents use the publicity to their advantage in the hope that she is returned soon.