BlackRiverFalls said:it has been suggested by some that the McCann's have still been drawing a salary from the hospital trust they work for, at the same time as using the 'find Madelaine' fund to pay off their mortgage.
their return to work would coincide rather with the bit where they'd go down to half pay if they stayed off any longer.
Fizz32 said:In the case of the 'back to work' press conference, I just couldn't see the point. It seemed like publicity for the sake of it.
Gerry McCann standing there thanking people for being supportive and talking about what he was going to be doing with his working day did nothing, in my opinion, to help the search for Madeleine. In the coverage I saw, he didn't even hold up a picture of his daughter, just to remind us what should be at the centre of the story.
It smacked of publicity for himself and his wife, rather than for his missing child, which made me uncomfortable.
Certainly, the Media are largely to blame. Quite possibly, the Portuguese Authorities, in the form of unamed sources, too.Dr_Baltar said:...
And you blame them and not the media for this coverage? And what do you think they want publicity for? Do you think they'd rather be tv stars than find their child?
Pietro_Mercurios said:Certainly, the Media are largely to blame. Quite possibly, the Portuguese Authorities, in the form of unamed sources, too.
However, it was the McCanns themselves, who decided to employ a series of professional Public Relations advisers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/sep/12/marketingandpr.crime
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/sep/13/marketingandpr.crime
Are they not now reaping what they sowed?
Fizz32 said:Dr_Baltar, someone must have told the press he was going back to work, as there were numerous television crews covering it, and they wouldn't have been hanging about the gates of the hospital on the off chance that he would be there that day. He had a pre-prepared statement that he read out, so obviously it was an orchestrated media event. The statement I heard was more about him and his wife than about Madeleine.
He could have just slipped back to work with the minimum of fuss, but he and/or the publicity machine behind him decided otherwise.
I don't for one minute think the McCanns would rather be TV stars than find their child, I'm not that cynical or hard-hearted. But they had a press conference to publicise a event unconnected with her disappearance. I would have preferred to see more emphasis on the search for her than his return to work.
That would depend on whether the PR adviser was employed to organise and run a campaign to find the child, or to help control and organise the Mcanns' media presence, now, wouldn't it? To portray their clients in the best possible light, isn't that what 'Public Relations' advisers are all about?Dr_Baltar said:Pietro_Mercurios said:...
Are they not now reaping what they sowed?
What did they sow and what do you suppose they are reaping? And if you wanted to carry out a campaign to find your daughter would you feel capable of doing it yourself or would you seek help from professionals?
Pietro_Mercurios said:That would depend on whether the PR adviser was employed to organise and run a campaign to find the child, or to help control and organise the Mcanns' media presence, now, wouldn't it? To portray their clients in the best possible light, isn't that what 'Public Relations' advisers are all about?
Cynicism? We have it.
I would imagine a PR adviser could be employed to do both. And given the way they been treated in the media, both here and in Portugal, and the way some people seem prepared to perpetuate every piece of unsubstantiated gossip, I don't blame them for looking for help.
That's the kind of disgusting cynicism I'm talking about. I'd be ashamed to be so lacking in decency and humanity.
Quake42 said:To be honest, given that they left three very young children alone at night so that they could go out boozing, I think that they were treated surprisingly well by the media for a long time. If they hadn't been (a) photogenic and (b) doctors (it isn't just a class thing - if they had been accountants or lawyers far less sympathy would have been forthcoming) they would have been ripped to shreds by the media in the early days of the investigation.
I agree with Pietro that their media advisers seem far more interested in spinning the McCanns' version of events than in looking for their daughter. The weekend's reports that the McCanns' private detectives had tracked Madeleine down but were not prepared to reveal her location were particularly ludicrous IMO.
I don't think anyone on this board has displayed "disgusting cynicism" - if anything people have been rather restrained. A number of posters have expressed the view that the McCanns behaviour following their daughter's disappearance was rather odd and have been sceptical about their media spinning. I think this is reasonable under the circumstances.
They went for a meal, why try to paint them in a worse light for their mistake by using a loaded phrase like "so that they could go out boozing"? I think the fact of who and what they are has worked against them as much as for them.
And why blame the McCanns or their representatives for more outlandish press speculation?
So you wouldn't agree that saying they've tried harder to be tv stars than find their daughter was disgusting cynicism?
Quake42 said:Well, they went to a tapas bar, where some food may have been consumed but the primary attraction seems to have been alcohol - 14 bottles of wine between 9 people in just over an hour and a half is quite a big night IMO, and I speak as someone who regularly consumes more than government guidelines!
But whether they were going to the pub to get bladdered or for a civilised meal is not really the point. They left a toddler and two babies alone in an unlocked apartment despite babysitters being available and, unbelievably, being, apparently, concerned about security at the complex.
Er, because the particular claim I quoted came from the McCann camp.
Cynicism, yes. Disgusting? Not really. I've thought from the start that the McCanns have been loving the limelight.
escargot1 said:I watched Panorama last night and found it interesting. The various possible 'timelines' were illuminating.
About the McCanns: I wonder how they should behave? Would it be more 'correct' for them to appear devastated and incoherent in their loss?
People who have suffered a devastating loss don't necessarily crumble and give up. Some do, some don't, depending on various factors like the amount of support they have, their own strength of personality and so on.
Would they get more sympathy if they retreated into grief, rather than mobilising all their not inconsiderable resources to keep everyone talking about the case?
Is there really no such thing as bad publicity?
Gerry McCann has only recently returned to work after being on unpaid leave and Kate McCann was only a part-time locum GP anyway
Yes, I'm sure they're so glad that their daughter's disappearance and probable death has got them on the telly so much. It's the sort of exposure every parent prays for.
Also, and I'm completely honest about this, the 'class' issue is germane to me. This would have played out very, very differently if they'd have been thick, shelf-stackers from Huddersfield rather than media-friendly doctors.
There's that and the fact that any new leads that have arisen, however unlikely, appear to have originated from the McCann camp, itself.escargot1 said:Does anyone else feel a bit deja vue about this? As if everything's been said, sometimes more than once and in different ways. In fact, I may even have said this myself a week or so back.
That's not say that people oughtn't to discuss Madeleine's disappearance, of course. But nothing new is coming to light. All there is to talk about is the McCanns themselves.
ChrisHBaker said:and because nothing else big is in the news it is all the press have to write about, so they are making up endless crap to keep the public 'entertained'.
That tells us rather more about the Daily Express than about the McCann case.ChrisHBaker said:Put it that way there is a lot in the news, but maddie always seems to dominate the front page of the daily express.
Peripart said:Mind you, Diana's been dead 10 years now, so they need something fill their front page until 2017.
ChrisHBaker said:Now the portugese police are saaying she's dead.
I don't think they want to put the resources into the case anymore