to think poor shannon deserves more coverage???

[NotSureWatToThink]

Raw subject i know, and im thinking maybe this thread has already been done? but i cant help feeling that missing Shannon just isnt getting enough coverage in the papers/news etc..

Today i was in the middle of a huge discussion about this and there were mixed opinions but the bottom line was that because they are from a low class estate and the mother has 7 kids that somehow its their fault!!

This is just my opinion im not saying i am right, would just like to know how others see it??

By the way im saying that its in other peoples opinion that its their fault, definately not my opinion

You are right she isn't getting enough coverage - she isn't as cute or upper class as Maddie so people don't seem to that concerned!

And what would "enough" be?

Would you prefer a media muck-raking fest, as is happening to the mother of Scarlett Keeling?

It is such a shame that the Britsh public can be so fickle when it comes to this. I cant stop thinking about her (or Maddie for that matter)

I see the point being made btw, and agree that its likely to be due to the family's background/class/single parent status etc.

But I think we have become accustomed to very high levels of blanket media coverage on such events, and I don't think thats always for the best.

no stripeyMama- just feel that this little girl isnt getting fair coverage, i mean i think even if she was to walk past me on the street i wouldnt realise it was her!!

The police would demand more media coverage if they thought that it would be useful to the case. Since they do not appear to be doing so, one can only assume that they consider that it would not be helpful - for whatever reason.

apparently neighbours of the family had to rally together just to make up the money for photocopying for the missing posters of the little girl!! How unfair

I think, when it comes to finding these children, i am pretty sure i would not be fussed if i was getting torn to pieces by the media if it meant my darling baby might be found because of the coverage.

Shannon is from only a few miles away from us. So we get more coverage than most of you because there has been a full page article in my local weekly paper every week. And there are posters up in the local swimming baths, library etc. But I agree the coverage has been fairly minimal really. It is not just Maddie that got loads of coverage, Holly and Jessica did too.

I did think that Soapbox, usually it is the police who orchestrate the media input and they seem to be holding back.

Yes that was in the paper. They are having to get people to donate paper and printer ink etc.

DH reckons they (the police) have a pretty good idea what has happened to her or the police would be helping more - with posters etc and house to house!

DH is a banker so where he gets this insight from I have no idea but maybe it is logical?

bozza totally agree...i was just saying this to DM the other day, it just seems odd, tbh im not even sure i would know she was missing unless i actually bought a paper everyday, which a lot of people dont

agree with the op completely

her family must be going out of their minds

I have no doubt that Shannon Matthews isn't getting as much coverage because she's not considered as photogenic and her family are not from a middle class background. After all there are no rewards for her return (apart from £10000 offered by one paper) no "find shannon" fund or website, and to the best of my knowledge the family aren't planning to visit the pope any time soon.

IMO it's tragic that one child's life seems to be worth more than another, even in monetary terms. but...

Too much publicity isn't necessarily a good thing either, as the Mccanns found out to their cost.

When Mmc went missing the coverage was everywhere. Sky news had a dedicated "madeleine" section on their website/there was an email campaign to distribute her photo all over the world and people were urged to wear yellow ribbons for "maddie". But a lot of people have become well and truely sick of the coverage of Madeleine Mccann. Children were being told of a little birl being "snatched from her bed" in cinemas/schools were urging children to wear yellow ribbons/workplaces were holding "maddie" days. And in time a lot of public opinion has turned against the Mccanns, and most people do not want to read about her any more.

Positive publicity? I don't think so.

So maybe Shannon's parents have it right. After all, they are working class, they're already more likely to be judged more harshly than the Mccann's, why exaserbate that by selling yourself to the media.

also, all the Madeleine publicity didn't achieve anything did it? nearly a year on and no-one knows what happened to her.

yes i do see your point wannabe, think its a shame how the whole MMc thing has turned out, but something just doesnt seem right to me, im not totally sure what would be the right move but the coverage has been so minimal that its like they are just not bothered iyswim

You can never be sure of course but this case does seem to have a different "feel" to it than other recent cases of missing children. I keep thinking I must have missed something - on the news, or in the paper - because there hasn't been that much publicity. Like a few of you have said, the police appear to be rather "quiet" - publicly at least. Makes you wonder if there is stuff being held back ?

I also feel very uncomfortable at some of the related reports I have seen. An interview with the stepdad for one (as part of an overall report I think) where he was full of how great a family man he was, how unfair it was that the finger of suspicion was being pointed at him, how he did this, that and the other for the family etc. And, by comparism, very little regret, anxiety, desperation expressed for the fact there is a little girl missing. I know that the way people are represented in the media isn't always accurate, and I suppose his interview could have been unfairly edited but I find it surprising that he should be talking about himself at all in the circumstances.

What a very sad case ... I just hope she is found soon, but can't help thinking there's more to this than meets the eye. In a report on the BBC website, the mother suggests Shannon may have been abducted because of her:

"Mrs Matthews told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that she believed the reason someone had taken her daughter was to get at her. Asked why someone would do it, she said: "Just to hurt me, really."

... what a very strange thing to say. No further explanation is given as to why she should think that, but it implies that threats may have been made to Shannon's family previously. If so, perhaps that's why there hasn't been much coverage - because the police are working on leads they already have ?

Message withdrawn

So, they are a family with problems- she still desreves more exposure for public information.
I believe the McCanns knew someone in the media who helped them orchestrate the massive publicity campaign.
Agree Wannabe, anyway-tragic how life seems to be worth less according to the media

I'm not entirely convinced that the media are uninterested in this case because of Shannon's background. It's more likely that the police have told them to ease up on the reportage.

Heavy hints have been made that the answer lies within the extended family, and I assume that this is the lead the police are following up.

In that sense, there isn't much to report at the moment. The Madeleine case was very different for a variety of reasons, and I don't think comparisons can be made at this stage.

I hated the way they discussed it on the 'one' show, saying Madeleine was 'attractive' and Shanon was a 'different sort of little girl' ffs.
I thought she was a darling little mite, when I saw the picture.
Bastards.