I must commend a piece in today's Independent by Deborah Orr about the media's coverage of the Madeleine McCann mystery. (Sorry for failing to mention it earlier, but having re-read it I realise I should have posted it first thing).
Samples of her wisdom: "From the start, the journalistic emphasis has been on sensation and emotionally-driven speculation, rather than sober reporting and investigation."
"Once people have been primed to dip in to the suffering of others in such a vicarious way, then they are hooked into the story very deeply. Madeleine becomes everyone's child, and everyone wants whatever news of her they can get. This lost girl sells papers."
"At the heart of this story is a person who took and harmed a tiny sleeping child, and an occurrence that no one has a difficulty with describing as evil. But this evil has been exploited wildly without restraint. That's also a horrible, sick activity, and it is done in the name of sympathy."
Anyone disagree with that?
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