I am going to get slaughtered for this I know but I think the lack of news/response over the kidnapping of a 3 year old girl shows that ...

[wannaBe]

one child's plight is more important than another in the eyes of some.

She is also three, she is also Brittish, Yes she is currently still alive but there is a threat over her life, but it doesn't seem as relevant somehow.

is it because she's in a country most wouldn't travel to?

because she was taken by rebels and not paedophiles?

Mum and dad do have differing skin tones - photo is lousy though

here

It is headline news on the BBC website, so I do think it is being covered as a high priority story at present.

I agree with growlingtiger about hysteria - there is always an element of this when little middle-class white girls are hurt, that doesn't happen for other kiddies. Remember Holly Wells? That went all over the world. When other children have died as a result of cruelty or abuse (e.g. Victora Climbe) who aren't white/british etc it only makes the papers when the case is mishandled.
I'm not trying to say that it isn't right re media around Madeline McCann issue, but just that it seems so slanted sometimes, and I feel we are manipulated by it.

wannaBe - do not agree with ypur OP imo this story has received profile and coverage both print and visual media and radio

Agree wannabe. Totally agree.

After madeleine i kissed my 3 yo DD very hard and thanked God for ervery day i have her. Last night after hearing about margaret i did the same thing. if i lost my dd i don't know whether it would be newsworthy or not but the pain and devastation to me would be equal.

Is it because we don't feel connected to a family of diplomats living in Africa, whereas we can identify with a family going on holiday?

Or is is because of who the McCanns are - photogenic, doctors, etc?

Argh, that did not sound nice, what I meant to say is taht the McCanns are obviously well-connected, confiden people and are turning that to their advantage in publicising the search for their dd. Maybe the Hills are not like that.

Mind you , there are vast differences between the cases so perhaps not fair to compare.

Agree with again expat at 10.09.

Lovin your work hun

I think that elements of what you are saying are unfortunately correct however I think the major difference is that with Madeleine there is so much speculation at what MIGHT have happened. Also, they lived in Nigeria where violent crimes are more prevalent than in a sleepy Portuguese town. Due to the dangers that travelling to Nigeria pose and the distance it is highly unlikely that there will be a flood of red-top journalists reporting from Port Harcourt.

So we don't know what's happened to madeleine but we at least we know margaret is safe with tthe nice african rebels.

Nice rebels who just told Margaret's mother they won't hesitate to kill and bury the little girl.

I'm sure that made her feel so much better.

The kidnappers have made their ransom demand known and are speaking to negotiators.

Let's hope we hear after Margaret's safe relief how the same big celebs who support Madeline's reward fund stumped up to secure Margaret's safe return home.

Nailpolish Friday 6th July 09:47:53, I find your comment very inconsiderate towards Margaret Hill and her parents.

If Madeleine's parents knew where their daughter were and who had her, do you think that somehow changes the desparation the parents feel? The complete and utter heartbreak? Are the Hills not allowed to feel just as bad as the McCanns, because they were there when it happened?

Are you really saying that it is a completely different situation.

How do they know for sure who exactly has her, and that they are not in any way harming her, or have already killed her?

We will not know anything for sure until both girls are back to their parents.

Don't be so moronic. You know exactly what I mean. There is no 'mystery' to solve here and that is perhaps what has added to the public 'appeal' of the McCann story. The fact is that Margaret has been taken by an evil ruthless gang and we can only hope that the authorities handle things as best they can.

Agree totally with OP.

Expat, your posts on this thread are so savvy and spot on (crawl crawl).

However, the focus with MMcC has always been 'help us find her' which has given the media a natural arc for their coverage of the story. Everybody loves a mystery...

With MH, there is def a general feeling of 'these things happen in that mad place' which I find unutterably depressing.

Loobyloo22 - who are you calling moronic?

It's on the front page of the BBC news page.
What more do you want?

I take it loobyloo was talking to clutteredup?

Can we stop the mud slinging please ladies.

I was refering to Clutterup's snipe about African rebels. I am not talking about my personal opinion on Madeleine or Margaret's plight in this post. The original topic was discussing the tabloid attention and I was simply pointing out what I believe to be part of the cause why a story such as this would never generate as much interest as the McCann case.

I think I agree with you looby...
I thought the same thing; nigeria is not such a nice jolly for the paparazzi as the Algarve

Sorry loobyloo my post wasn't meant to upset, I should have pointed out that I agree with you. I don't agree with the general lack of interest compared to madeleine - it wasn't meant as a snipe at you, honest just at the situation as a whole.

Well in this case the parents are keeping a dignified low profile, refusing to comment, keeping their distress private and leaving it to the professionals. So when the little girl is returned (as she will be, becuase they will pay the ransom) she can sink into blissful obscurity and private family life.
If Madeleine is ever found - highly unlikley as that now is - her parents have ensured she would be an object of prurience and curiosity and the rest of her life would be public property.
I hope the media is NOT tempted to turn every abduction into entertainment - in any case, can't see a stampede of fluffy sky reporters rushing to the Niger delta

Perhaps if Margaret was reported as Maggie, then the Sun would be putting her picture on the front page and asking us all to don ribbons.

Here here expat (post Fri 06-Jul-07 09:54:45 )