Media Justice: Madeleine McCann , Intermediatisation and ‘Trial by Media’ in the British Press

by ShuBob 28.03.13 21:16

Mods please move to the relevant section.

Abstract

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared on 3 May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Portugal. Over five years and multiple investigations that failed to solve this abducted child case, Madeleine and her parents were subject to a process of relentless ‘intermediatization’. Across 24–7 news coverage, websites, documentaries, films, YouTube videos, books, magazines, music and artworks, Madeleine was a mediagenic image of innocence and a lucrative story. In contrast to Madeleine’s media sacralization, the representation of her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, fluctuated between periods of vociferous support and prolonged and libellous ‘trial by media’. This article analyses how the global intermediatization of the ‘Maddie Mystery’ fed into and fuelled the ‘trial by media’ of Kate and Gerry McCann in the UK press. Our theorization of ‘trial by media’ is developed and refined through considering its legal limitations in an era of ‘attack journalism’ and unprecedented official UK inquiries into press misconduct and criminality.

http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/1988/

http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/1988/1/2012%20-%20TC%20-%20Madeleine%20McCann.pdf

by ShuBob 28.03.13 21:27

A link to a translation of "The Truth of The Line" is included in this publication (on page 23) which prima facie appears to support the parent's version of events. McCannfiles, Pamalam's and McCannexposure are also linked.

by **tigger** 29.03.13 8:51

ShuBob wrote:A link to a translation of "The Truth of The Line" is included in this publication (on page 23) which prima facie appears to support the parent's version of events. McCannfiles, Pamalam's and McCannexposure are also linked.

Great find Shubob. Very good assessment - as you say prima facie it appears to support the TM version but this is a clinical assessment of the methods deployed by them for maximum effect. This struck me particularly (I've always said The Photograph was a masterstroke and therefore was not the brainchild of Gerry alone) - Imo there was pre-event manipulation and preparation of the media in order to hit on ALL of the following targets:

quote:

The story dominated news headlines in the UK broadcast and print media. In the crucial early stages, the McCanns worked with journalists to reinforce the positive message that Madeleine was abducted but alive, and that with public assistance she would be found. This collaborative strategy helped them to establish an initial inferential structure across the news media which, our research indicates, was built around the factual, naturally interconnected and globally resonant news frames of ‘abducted child’ and ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’. This inferential structure ordered and interpreted the rolling news story in a way that:

a) stressed both the urgency and feasibility of finding this abducted but alive child
b) sacralised Madeleine and emphasised the agony that her abduction was causing the
McCann family
c) speculated on the motives and methods of Madeleine’s abductor(s), and on where she might be
d) reproduced an array of unconfirmed sightings and leads, and appraised the latest developments in the police investigation
Unquote

Spot on! thumbsup

by Olympicana_Reloaded 30.03.13 2:57

The disappearance of Madeleine McCann: Public drama and trial by media in the Portuguese press

Abstract

The extraordinary media coverage regarding the disappearance of the British 3-year-old Madeleine McCann emerges as an illustrative example of a ‘public drama’ and ‘trial by media’. This article presents a comparative analysis of the perspectives and narrative devices employed by two Portuguese newspapers in establishing a dialogue with their respective audiences. High-profile mediatized criminal cases have the potential to linger in the public memory and become cultural references which may affect long-term public representations of crime and justice. Our analysis is limited to a sample of representative Portuguese newspapers. We found a basic distinction between ‘quality’ and ‘popular’ press which may be related to inherent differences of their market and implicit audiences. A distanced, neutral and reflexive style of the quality press contrasts with the construction of a sensationalistic narrative by the popular press. The latter provided the audience with a daily dose of vicarious participation in a criminal drama which developed into a trial by media, sustained by a rhetoric that encourages the audience to ‘take sides’. Sensationalist media narratives can potentially undermine the principles of fair trial and the presumption of innocence. But they can also elicit relevant collective energies directed at starting processes of change.

http://cmc.sagepub.com/content/5/2/146.abstract

by Olympicana_Reloaded 15.04.13 20:13

http://www.city.ac.uk/arts-social-sciences/academic-staff-profiles/dr-chris-greer

Recent refereed journal articles

Greer, C. and McLaughlin, E. (2012) 'Media Justice: Madeleine McCann, Intermediatisation and 'Trial by Media' in the British Press', in Theoretical Criminology, 16, 4: 395-416 (ISSN: 1362-4806)

Recent invited national and international research presentations

June, 2008 - Finding Madeleine: British Media Coverage of the Madeleine McCann Case, Opening Plenary address, Media and Fear of Crime conference, Lisbon, Portugal

Addendum:

Greer, C. (2007) 'News Media, Victims and Crime', in P. Davies, P. Francis and C. Greer (eds.) Victims, Crime and Society, London: Sage.

http://www.uk.sagepub.com/stout/greer_news_media%20-%20vic_crime_soc.pdf

Media Justice: Madeleine McCann , Intermediatisation and ‘Trial by Media’ in the British Press

Media Justice: Madeleine McCann , Intermediatisation and ‘Trial by Media’ in the British Press

Re: Media Justice: Madeleine McCann , Intermediatisation and ‘Trial by Media’ in the British Press

Re: Media Justice: Madeleine McCann , Intermediatisation and ‘Trial by Media’ in the British Press

Re: Media Justice: Madeleine McCann , Intermediatisation and ‘Trial by Media’ in the British Press

Re: Media Justice: Madeleine McCann , Intermediatisation and ‘Trial by Media’ in the British Press

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