The Media's power to acquit, condemn, forgive & pardon

international | crime and justice | opinion/analysis Saturday September 08, 2007 15:42 by +

Yesterday evening a rippling realisation which may yet become a tidal wave of emotions hit the copy editors of almost all commercial news entities on this continent. Editors of both newspapers and television news programs had to make a very quick decision as to how they would report the naming of Kate Mc Cann as a formal suspect in the case of her daughter's disappearance & then then subsequent naming of her husband. For this has never a run of the mill child abduction case. British commerical media raised an award fund of 2 million pounds sterling whilst the length & breadth of Europe's tourist destinations saw her photo displayed on posters with the phrase "look into my eyes" more often than not written in English. Her case was linked by her parents and the band of loyal followers who charted their unprecedented campaign to one other case of a disappeared child in Spain whilst sighting of the Mc Cann infant were made & investigated from Morrocco to Spain, Malta to Portugal.

The Mc Cann Parents with the Pope as he blessed a photo of "Maddy".

This morning reading the European commercial media it becomes quickly apparant that public opinion on the case has been prejudiced by a number of factors. Newspapers in Portugal and Spain are already showing voxpolls, opinion poll & comment threads which show a majority belief that the parents were involved in the disappearance & supposed death of their child. Such a majority belief might have led to the decision of a Portuguese newspaper to publish leaked details of the investigation and then spark the return of the 2 formal suspects to Portugal to sue for libel & "clear their names". Yet the other side of media speculation which supported the Mc Canns in their campaign and obvious distress found in the English language press is already positioning itself to declare the Portuguese police incompetent, prejudiced & naturally protect their readers from what the tabloid press has always excelled at - building heros to rip off the mask and take down the villain.

Any attempt now by either commercial media or television to report on the facts of the case must not only deal with a "timeline" of events, theories, sightings, interviews, suspects, witnesses, disarticulated paedophilia networks (of which there has been the greatest number on continental Europe since the case began) but also admit the role the media circus has played in hampering any investigation & is about to play in confusing any judicial process.

But for now I ask readers regardless of the personal emotions they might have felt considering the Mc Cann case, arguably made more accesible or empathic to Irish readers by dint of ethnicity, religious profession & so forth puting its power to shock & subvert judgement beyond the usual sympathy between any civilised individual and parents who lose children - to consider the potential for distrust & incredulity & very deep sense of betrayal which any conclusion might now bring.

If the Mc Cann's are innocent - the temperature of suspicion and bias in english language reporting and spin of the case will cause resentment on continental Europe.
If the Mc Cann's are guilty - the temperature of suspicion and bias in english language reporting and spin of the case will cause resentment in Britian and Ireland.

All too soon, what would be a simple "judgement" for the public to make were some typically wicked and evil stranger brought to light, will turn and is turning into a most horrific exploration of maternity, publicity, intercession & the media structured reality we think of as life.

Make no mistake, that for the first time onlookers have hissed the couple where before they were applauded & make no mistake onlookers who before preferred not to think of the horror - still came to their own conclusions on innocence and guilt & their current silence will soon turn quite hypocritically nasty.

a view on the "support, booing & no opinions" - http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2165016,00.html