I am so sick of all the rubber-necking that has been going on with regard to a recent and tragic news topic.

[Bubble99]

And all under the guise of 'concerned fellow-parent/s'

I met a mother at school today (never spoken to her before) who approached me and said ..'Have you heard about? What do you think about?' and the freak was almost smiling. It's as if this nightmare has become entertainment for some people.

There is a voyeuristic, collective sickness going on , safe under the umbrella of 'concerned parents.'

Yuk.

I agree with you wannabe except that the Mccann story is an ongoing one with the hope of good news. The media are reporting a developing story. the 2 children died tragically but I guess the press see it as a closed story, no breaking news to report.

of course. But if Madeleine is found dead then the media will drop this as well and Madeleine will become just like the children in London. That's almost worse imo - discuss something while there's still hope, but when hope runs out it's no longer worthy of discussion ...

I have heard people say 'well what do they expect if they leave her and go off to a resturant' and kind of imply they deserve it. No one deserves to have their child snached and i find these comments sick and narrow minded. I pray that little girl is ok and that she gets home safe and sound. There are some sick people in this world.

I don't understand what you want tohappen wannabe. On the one hand the media are criticised for reporting this case over and over when there is no news to report. And then they are criticised for letting it go.
What should they be doing then?

The argument in this thread seems to have got blurred.

Ok, bubble's 'freak' might have been a bit strong but I think she was simply arguing that SOME people have an almost unnatural interest in this story and also, that just because people don't choose to talk (and in many cases gossip) about it, does not meant that they don't care.

An earlier poster hit the nail of the had when she said that the media and some individuals are 'pawing over every detail of someone elses horror'. That is absolutely happening every day at the moment and I can't believe that people don't see it.

Example - when the McCanns gave their press conference yesterday morning they were obviously tired, in pain and at their wit's end. Anyone could see that. However, as soon as they'd finished one of the t**ts at Sky News who calls himself a journalist asked how they were feeling and coping. Totally unnecessary, especially after the couple had spoken mainly about their future ACTIONS rather than emphasising their pain. The media certainly 'paw' over people's lives and unfortunately it seems that many do on mumsnet. Just look at the 'positive thread' running at the moment. It started out as that but has now turned into people asking irrelevant and relentless questions about every small aspect of this case which actually, has nothing to do with them. If the guy is charged far enough, let us know - if the poor girl is found, then that should be on the news. But the behaviour of people who are literally picking over every single aspect of this case is in my opinion, as inappropriate as the reporting by channels such as Sky.

Why on earth does every newsflash/update have to be reiterated by numerous individuals on this site?

Oh God- I saw that Countrylass- when he asked how they were 'coping' - what did he expect them to say
" Oh we are having a whale of a time- enjoying the sunshine and pool etc"

How does questioning like that help anybody?- it makes the 'journalist' look like a twat at the very least.

Bloody awful

Sorry haven't read all of this thread but my take is that parents (and this is mumsnet) are naturally drawn to the McCann story because it taps into your worst nightmare of what could happen every time you let your child out of your sight (which we all do).

Being voyeuristic over it is maybe a sort of a harmless way of testing how it would feel if it happened to you? Personally I am avoiding the story out of self-preservation, I just want to cry whenever I see or hear her poor parents and don't want to think about the possibility of anything like that ever happening to my child.

Sorry if this is repetitive, no time to read the whole thread.

lucy, I think the media shouldn't be allowed to report on it at all. I think they should be able to report that a child has gone missing, presumed abducted, I think they should be allowed to show appeals by the parents for that child's safe return, and I think they should be allowed to report when there is a resolution ie when that child has been found be it alive or not. But I do not think they should be allowed to report on supposed developments, that police have sealed off x villa and that y man has been arrested, and "here's who he is and what he does for a living and we've brought in an old school friend to speak of her horror on the fact he may have abducted a child, oh but wait he hasn't been charged yet but we'll speculate anyway". I don't think they should be allowed to bring in experts to speculate about what might have happened. And I certainly don't think that they should be allowed to interview the neighbours of his ex wife and daughter who weren't even at the scene.

At the moment the media are picking over every inch of this case, and that includes asking the parents "how are you feeling". Are they doing it for the benefit of the parents? are they hell. They're doing it because being able to put pictures of Kate Mccann on the front of the papers sells, because it speaks to every parent out there, it reiterates the fear that "this could happen to your child". But the parents are happy to comply at the moment because it keeps their daughter in the public eye.

But what happens when this is all over? If Madeleine is found safe and well the media will be there to bask in the glory. To share the moment when Madeleine blows out the candles on her 4th birthday cake, and possibly even for the anniversary of when she was found. But what if it isn't a happy outcome? What if the worst has happened to this little girl and she isn't found alive? Who will be there then to ask the Mccanns if they are ok? Who will be there to help pick up the pieces? It won't be the media because they will have moved on to the next story by then. The mccanns will have passed their shelf life, and the media can leave them to their grief and move on, and the world will be left to forget a little girl who, for such a long time, dominated the public interest.

Some of the press are unbelievable - Sky particularly. The main presenter covering it has been Anna Botting who had at least an air of empathy but they've now brought in Jeremy Thompson and Kay Burley - both guaranteed to make a drama out of a crisis. Over the weekend when Sky decided to devote the entire schedule to the story, they even turned up outside the McCann's house in Leicester, just to say "this is where they live" - I thought this was particularly unnecessary and potentially risky as presumably their house is unoccupied.

BBC seems to be generally more level headed but Jane Hill is difficult to watch with her constant eye rolling because the police aren't personally informing HER of their every move.

I agree with Scooby. My ds is about the same age as Madeleine & we have recently booked a holiday in Italy. I can't help but imagine myself in Mrs M's position, which is horrifying. It seems the whole world is talking about this particular case although many other terrible things are happening, as always. Media coverage is everything. So are we all voyeuristic?

My original take on this was that we should all shut up and let the police get on with their job and leave the McCanns in peace. However, it appears that far from wanting to be left in peace they are actively encouraging the media hype to keep this on the front page. I see they have now brought over a whole entourage of family and lawyers to keep up the momentum and having refgular press conferences to keep Sky News on the hook - press conferences that say nothing more useful than that they believe Madeleine is still alive - is that news?(wonder who is paying for all their accomodation - presumably poor old Mark Warner company which no blame can remotely attach)
So - keep on rubbernecking, rubberneckers, the family want you to - and never mind if some innocent bystanders like the interpreter guy get caught in the crossfire while ou pick him apart - its still selling newspapers and feeding your frenzy.

'innocent bystanders'

what makes you so sure he's innocent?

Do you know him personally?

kookaburra i think they just want to keep it high profile so everyone is still on the lookout for their daughter

whats wrong with that

and its nothing to do with you who is paying for their accomodation fgs

kookaburra, i do agree - it's a real dilemma, the family want to keep the public profile up while ethically we all want to turn away until there's real news.

But this trial by media is appalling. We shouldn't know all the details of someone being questioned should we? Surely people should be considered innocent til proven guilty.

I wish this family the best possible outcome but I also I wish some of these reporters would go and report on children who are dying every day in Iraq and all over the world.

quietmouse we don't know he's innocent but we don't know he's guilty either. Just because sky feel it's appropriate to release as much detail about him as is possible doesn't mean he's actually done anything. Even if he's been named as a suspect we don't know what he's suspected of doing - could just be that he knows something and hasn't told the police. and ... innocent until proven guilty, so .. yes, until he is convicted of a crime he is presumed innocent.

Yes Mrs Mar, the police do depend on the media to get the info out, but please don?t pretend that all this endless speculation is healthy, or designed to do anything more than hold and win viewers or listeners. Have the police asked the newspapers to endlessly speculate on the suspect ? do they want to jeopardise any future trial? Oh, silly me. The police want to be famous, just like the rest of us and if we play the game even slightly, we loose any right to complain. FGS.

I haven't read the whole of this thread, but I do agree with the opening post and some of the early comments. I can't feel the pain and anguish of the McCann parents, and it is unreasonable of me to suggest I can.

DH works with someone who has just returned from the Canary Islands. She said that a spanish child disappeared from a resort there last year. Did we hear about it? Not as far as I can remember (and I read the papers and listen to radio 4 news nearly every day). I find it quite sickening that the press here make such a furore about this because it's a british child, but made not a single comment about a similar incident simply because it wasn't a british child/resort.

It's like reports of air crashes, which say "80 people killed, none were British citizens". Oh, that's alright then.

Oh, and one more question. Does anyone think it will make an iota of difference if a famous footballer makes an appeal for the return of the child. Does an abductor think "Oh I was going to ..... but seeing as David Beckham has asked for her back, then I'll send her home".

Some people are absolutely obsessed with this. I agree it appears they almost relish the fascination and they want to read any spurious detail, talk endlessly to others about it even though they're of no help whatsoever.

By all means distribute posters, take a quiet moment to pray if that's what works for you, but this mawkish pouring over every detail is deeply disturbing.

The threads have been absolutely dominating active convos for days now and the constant, obsessive focus on the subject has been really ruining my MNing lately. If I thought it would do the slightest bit of good for the girl in question or her parents, I would be far more tolerant, obviously. But I don't.

I watched with my mouth open in disbelief the other day when Sky news introduced a report on this case with a series of photos of the little girl and her family with music to accompany it as if it was a bloody soap opera!!!! What's happened to the media over the last few years-I don't recognise it any more!! Why can't they just report on the story, give us facts and then move on the next item? I absolutely believe it should continue to be high profile until some conclusion is bought to it but surely it can be done in a dignified way! I watch the news regularly as like anyone my heart goes out to the family but I don't want the facts dressed up with inane commentary and given a sodding soundtrack!!!

perfectly put, gio. They lead us by the nose into mawkish behaviour.

the speculation on MN is still going and it really seems to me that people are thriving on the speculation voyeurism.

and voyeurism.

Of course there will be updates on the McCanns plight over the coming months - just like the Ben Needham case, the public interest will keep this story alive for many years to come. What's the point in arguing over the nuances of how this case has been reported and splitting hairs over what news reporter says what, if they wern't giving it enough airtime there would be people with issues with that too.

Clumsymum - they probably made a lot of fuss about the Spanish child in Spain. From what I've read very little was initially reported on Madeleine's disappearance in other European countries like Germany and Spain and I'm sure it's not big news in America. Just as, when there is a plane crash I am sure other countries, like France would report it as "20 dead - 10 of whom are French", for example. I think that's the way of the world