Culture Corner

by **Jill Havern** 13.09.17 9:05

Thursday, 7 September 2017

Culture Corner

Maria Callas. What was she describing?

With the Edinburgh Festival ending soon the question arises at all decent dinner tables, “what was the greatest Edinburgh performance of all time?”

Contenders

In 1957 the glorious Maria gave us the complete Callas – complete in the sense that the singing was preceded by hysterical tantrums and contract disputes and she was “unwell” for two of the shows. Twenty years later the tenor-king Placido Domingo famously broke female hearts while lilting in Carmen while Rudolph Nureyev, always willing to please, did the same for the boys in 1984.

Rudy, in characteristic pose

Richard Burton’s growling 1953 Hamlet became a legend, while in the weird sixties Marlene Dietrich was exhumed to perform cabaret songs, a significant event since, the Bureau understands, Dietrich returned to her dressing room to find many welcome bouquets missing, apparently stolen by one of Edinburgh’s numerous street-alkies. Turning to Bert Bacharach she asked icily, “Vair have all the flowers gone?” – and the rest, of course, is history.

Culture Corner 220px-The-Blue-Angel-Dietrich

And, of course...

The Winner

But none of these can touch, in acting power or anything else, the stomach-churning performance put on at the festival in 2007 by the celebrity story-teller Gerry McCann. You can search for a transcript of the programme, which we watched, but you won't find it. You can search for a video but, like the transcript, it's gone. Under whose instructions? Who knows. None of the participants want to be associated with it, even the main interviewer Kirsty Wark, who'd given GM his first publicity leg-up on May 4 of that year. Ah, show business.

Winner: Gerry McCann (with Liar's Rictus Syndrome) in Edinburgh 2007

Facts Corner

The facts of that dramatic performance are simple: Gerry McCann lied from beginning to end on a colossal scale to an audience of many millions, and lied so prodigiously that we haven’t got space to list all the deceptions.

His central lie is a self-portrait of Gerry McCann and a history of the Madeleine McCann Affair, all in a few hundred words. He claimed in Edinburgh that he was utterly mystified by the rumours that he and his wife might be under possible suspicion, just as he claimed in May to be mystified by the loss of his child. He couldn’t explain why people might be writing such things since there was, literally, not a single fact or event he could think of that might justify such weird slurs. Nothing? Nope.

Richard Burton could never remotely approach McCann in his acting. That is one reason why the videos are gone. He went through the whole range of his expressions and tones of voice - bewilderment, pain, surprise, reproach - as he confessed that he just couldn't understand what it was all about.

He knew how good he was by then, knew that nobody without inside knowledge could possibly believe that he wasn't telling the truth - for only a monster could be able to lie so convincingly about something so close and intimate and raw, and nobody believed Gerry McCann was a monster. That was his greatest strength. To millions of people world-wide, he lied, without a blush or a stammer or breaking sweat: to the people who'd sent money to help find the child and were emotionally transfixed by her possible fate, he lied; to his own relatives he lied; to those who had trusted him he lied; to the police in Portugal who knew, first hand and directly, that every single sentence he uttered was untrue, he lied.

“What I would like to direct all of your viewers to are the official statements from the Portuguese police, which bear no resemblance to the wild speculation and, you know, the police yesterday made it very clear. First of all, we are not suspects; two, that there is no evidence to suggest that we are involved in Madeleine's disappearance and, if there was, they are obliged by Portuguese law to make us official suspects. So, you know, they just... they do not bear resemblance and Kate and I learned, very early on, only to listen to information that's coming through official channels.”

Further selected examples from the surviving, fragmentary reports to be found on Gerry McCann’s Blogs: “Mr McCann said that this wealth of speculation is being reported as fact in total disregard of the ongoing police investigation in Portugal…Clearly, he says, they [the media] are feeding each other…it's absolutely wild speculation with no foundation…pointing out that very early on in the process he and his wife were excluded as suspects…the pressure on journalists to find a story was leading to absolutely wild speculation about what had happened, he said, even early on, there was saturation coverage with nothing to report, and there are commercial decisions being made with filling column inches and time on TV. In the last six weeks particularly there has been been nothing…things have gone back to a degree of normality and some calmness has, errr... settled in.”

"Wild speculation. Things have gone back to a degree of normality. Calmness has settled in. Nothing has happened in the case for the last six weeks." The date of this performance was August 25 2007.

During those prior weeks of "calmness":

- The police had told the pair to prepare for investigative changes.

- On July 30 all regular meetings with the police ended.

- On August 2 the police raided their apartment with a search warrant and threw them out while the search was executed. On August 5 Apartment 5A was forensically examined. On August 6 their hire car was seized and held for forensic testing.

- On August 8 they were interrogated, not merely interviewed, about the night of May 3. The police stated that they did not believe KM’s version of events. She threw a fit of hysterics as they accused her outright of lying about when she had last seen the child.

- On August 20, just five days before Edinburgh, the McCanns appointed a criminal lawyer to defend them, having learned that they were due to be formally questioned by the police in the coming weeks.

Was there ever a bigger bastard of a liar? A more disgusting one? Anywhere? Anytime? The public thought that only a monster would lie on such a scale about a horrible, terrible family tragedy. They were right all along. He is a monster.

Blacksmith

by **HiDeHo** 13.09.17 10:51

Does anyone know which video was removed?

by Guest 13.09.17 11:50

[color:52bf=000000]Gerry McCann arrives back in the UK, for the fourth time since Madeleine was reported missing, in order to attend the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

He undertakes a number of short TV interviews and appears onstage with Kirsty Wark - although no transcript or video footage of that interview has been made available.

Madeleine and the media
At the Edinburgh television festival this week, Kirsty Wark will interview the father of missing toddler Madeleine McCann.
In an article for the BBC's staff magazine, Ariel, she discusses the questions posed by the media's reaction to Madeleine's disappearance.

By Kirsty Wark
Presenter, BBC Newsnight

It has become the picture that nobody tears down, Madeleine McCann's angelic face on posters downloaded and printed by people all over the world and stuck up in supermarkets, train stations, on airport jetties and in cinema foyers.

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The McCanns have worked hard to keep their campaign alive[/td]
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The picture is emblazoned across Jonny Wilkinson's jersey, on Premier League team strips, and on Ewan MacGregor's bike. Madeleine McCann is everywhere, and nowhere.
I can't think of any other story, so prominent for so long, where there are so few facts.

TV reporters have done thousands of pieces to camera eeking out the few reliable details, newspapers have contained screeds about the McCanns whose faces are as well known as many celebrities.

The last time I typed their daughter's name on Google it offered up more than two million pages.

Sustaining interest

The McCann campaign has been unprecedented and we, the media, have been willing participants. If you were in the McCanns' position I am sure you too would do everything in your power, and seize every opportunity to keep the story on the screen, online and on 24 hour TV.

But how did they achieve such blanket - and on TV at least - such uncritical coverage when hundreds of children disappear every year?

Was it because the family and their close circle of friends knew how to create massive and sustained interest that had a fleet of satellite trucks racing to the Algarve, or was there something about this little girl's disappearance that triggered a kind of collective sensation akin to the death of Princess Diana, and an international conversation point on blogs and chatrooms? Or perhaps both?

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Gerry McCann will be speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival[/td]
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There is also the fact that the McCanns are telegenic and articulate - and are doctors, and therefore regarded as respectable members of society.
The broadcasters did not keep their distance. The BBC helped to organise the original televised statement which was pooled to British and Portuguese television stations, probably in the absence of any input from the Portuguese police whose rules and operational methods are different from what we are used to.

And early on, on 10 May, the controller of News 24, Kevin Bakhurst, wrote in his blog:

"We will continue to try to provide the high volume of coverage and updates that the audience wants while respecting the family's privacy and needs and while striving to separate real developments from rumour."

Media 'events'

Since then there have been few real developments, so the McCanns in partnership with the media have staged a number of "events," the most famous being their meeting with the Pope.

[table style= align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"][tr][td] Culture Corner _44070608_mccann3_203

Meeting the Pope, one of several key media events in the campaign[/td]
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There have been regular photo opportunities, high profile supporters and recently a series of interviews.
Even when the coverage has not gone their way I suspect that they will consider it of little importance in comparison with the importance of keeping Madeleine's face on the front page.

They are incredibly well plugged into the media, and have a campaign organiser, a media advisor who is the godparent of one of their children and a former lecturer in new media, and a roster of loyal friends who give their time, energy and expertise.

They all think laterally about how to produce a new angle on the story. In that way they remind me of the producers on Newsnight, and it's been that way from the beginning.

Direct action

The morning after Madeleine's disappearance I was on my way to London to the programme, and at home in Glasgow, a neighbour whom we'd never met rang the bell.

She was one of Kate McCann's closest friends and she was very upset. She told my husband that Madeleine had disappeared and Kate and Gerry were frantic because the police had been slow off the mark.

They were desperate to get the story out and could I help? In fact the disappearance soon began running on all the outlets.

That kind of direct action has been a hallmark of the campaign. Creating a publicity engine and keeping the momentum up has given the McCanns a positive focus, and was achieved by them and their family and friends through an enormous amount of self discipline.

Has this tragic story created a "blueprint" for families who find themselves in similar terrible situations, or was there something unique to the McCanns?

We in the media should ask ourselves whether we would react the same way again, and again because the sad truth is that it will happen sooner rather than later.

by Guest 13.09.17 11:56

Gerry McCann and Kirsty Wark

[Acknowledgement: Pamalam]

Date	Brief overview of events
23 Aug 2007	Kate and Gerry record an interview for the weekly Spanish television programme La Noria, on Telecinco, inside their villa in Praia da Luz. Gerry storms out when questioned about a report that traces of blood had been found in their holiday apartment. He later apologises and returns to finish the interview. Gerry travels back to the UK at night 'to attend to a few personal matters before heading to Edinburgh'. Kate has family staying with her whilst Gerry is in the UK.
24 Aug 2007	Gerry starts the day with some pooled telephone interviews, for the British press, to talk about the media coverage of the case. In the afternoon, Gerry heads up to Edinburgh in advance of his appearance at the Edinburgh International TV Festival. He manages to get 25 minutes aerobic exercise in the gym before meeting up with a friend, who produced the Madeleiene DVD, for a bite to eat. Police say they still have doubts over how Madeleine disappeared and whether she will ever be found. Portugese newspaper Tal & Qual publish a front page headline that reads: 'PJ believes that the parents killed Maddie'.
25 Aug 2007	At the Edinburgh Festival, Gerry is interviewed on stage at 9.30am by Kirsty Wark. Gerry describes the event as being 'very well attended' but there appear to be quite a few free seats in the short clip that is available. Gerry leaves Edinburgh early afternoon but spends much of the day travelling as he has to return to Portugal via Luton airport. Kate attends the English speaking night service, at the local church, alone. Interview that was filmed last Thursday, for Spanish television, is aired on the Telecinco programme.
26 Aug 2007	Gerry attends Sunday morning mass alone fuelling rumours in the press that the couple are experiencing relationship difficulties. This is strongly denied by Kate and Gerry. They spend the afternoon with the twins.

by Guest 13.09.17 12:07

Re: 'VIDEO OF THE DAY'

by Verdi on Sat Feb 11, 2017 8:42 pm
2007 08 25 Gerry McCann attacks media in Edinburgh BBC

Another One For Justice

04:54 minutes

Gerry McCann displays the personification of hypocrisy and the controversial issue of good publicity v. bad publicity.

Prior to his appearance at the Edinburgh Television Festival (what the hell is he doing there I here you ask) he had this to say on his extraordinary blog - a day in the life of a Gerald..

24th August 2007 (yes that's less than four months after his precious daughter 'disappeared' - smug beggar!)

I started the day early with a pooled telephone interview for the press to talk about the media coverage of the campaign to find Madeleine in advance of my interview at the Edinburgh International TV festival. We touched on the coverage of the investigation and of course the wild speculation and innuendo being reported in some quarters. Although Kate, our friends and myself would love to correct much of the inaccuracy we will not divulge information publicly which might help the perpetrator of Madeleines abduction cover his tracks.

Travelled to Edinburgh this afternoon and managed to keep up the aerobic exercise with 25 minutes in the gym. I then met up with one of our friends who has been instrumental in distributing images of Madeleine and who produced the DVD of her to ‘Don’t you forget about me’. We had a bite to eat and took the chance to update each other on what has been happening in the last few weeks.

Off to bed for an early night after speaking to Kate, who has some family staying with her in Portugal whilst I am in the UK.

25th August 2007

Kirsty Wark interviewed me at the Edinburgh International TV festival this morning. It was very well attended, especially considering the 9.30 start on a Saturday morning. It is difficult to explain why Madeleines disappearance has generated so much media coverage and why it has been so sustained. I am certain that the coverage would not have been nearly as great if this had happened 10 years ago. The use of mobile phones, the internet, low-cost airlines and 24 hour news channels have changed the world we live in- making it seem smaller. No doubt Madeleines physical appearance also captured the publics imagination as well as the highly unusual circumstances of a foreign child being abducted on holiday.

Our family decided to try and make as many people as possible aware that Madeleine was missing quickly. Family members did frequent TV interviews and friends distributed images of Madeline to news outlets. My sister started the electronic campaign proper by sending a chain e-mail with a poster of Madeleine, which was quickly advertised by Sky and downloaded by thousands of people. Celebrities, sporting stars and ordinary people wanted to help, almost certainly because they felt the same feeling of helplessness that we did. After the first few weeks we fully expected the media attention to die down but this has just not happened.

Some sections of the media now question their roles in the coverage of the news story that is Madeleine. Kate and I quickly realised that much of the coverage was pure speculation, which was often negative and certainly unhelpful for us. We decided to rely on information only from official sources and this has certainly helped us remain on a fairly even keel despite some of the lurid headlines.

I left Edinburgh early afternoon but spent most of the day travelling as I had to fly back to Portugal via Luton. I managed to get some work done and write my blog on the way back. It was great to see Kate and the kids again after 2 days.

by Guest 13.09.17 12:17

HiDeHo wrote:Does anyone know which video was removed?

The blacksmith would appear to be referring to the Edinburgh interview as per your video but I don't think that's the case. It's debatable whether the interview with Kirsty Wark was 'removed' or just not worthy of note - personally I'll go with the latter. Disassociation on the part of Wark and/or the production team is I feel a bit of sensationalism to add impetus to the narrative.

At the moment I can't find any record of the interview being recorded or watched to confirm the claim - apart from the blogger's royal 'wee'.

ETA: A transcript for the BBC Edinburgh interview from the above video still exists. If it's not already featured in the forum's 'McCann Interview Transcripts' thread - it blooming well soon will be!

by **HiDeHo** 13.09.17 16:12

If that is the video, then I recognise I have it somewhere or at least a portion of it.

Without knowing the title I can only find it visually from thumbnails

Only more than 10,000 videos to search through :)

by **HiDeHo** 13.09.17 17:11

This video with Kirsty Wark was on 12 May 2011

by Cmaryholmes 13.09.17 18:31

HiDeHo wrote:This video with Kirsty Wark was on 12 May 2011

Duping delight from Kate around 3 minutes?

by Guest 13.09.17 21:34

I think maybe I've found it..

Transcript:

Kirsty Wark: Okay, raise the lights now, and we'll take, errm... Gerry's agreed to take, errr.. some questions, which I think is important in this...

Question: Do you dread the day that the media interest and the public interest does disappear?

Gerry McCann: It... It's not dread, errm... I... errr... as I said, even in week three or four, and what happened, errm... in about the middle of June, after about five or six weeks, things were going really very, very quiet and I was actually, errm... quite glad of that and I thought we would start to get back to a sort of more normal existence and a... a quieter form of campaigning, errm... you know, using the internet, viral... raising, errm... broadening the issues, the political issues, which have been highlighted to us and I saw that as the long term focus and, as I have already alluded to, I don't think necessarily having newspaper headlines of the image of Madeleine, errr... being thrust to people every single day actually may help, so not particularly. What we dread is the worst news that, you know, Madeleine is not alive.

by nglfi 13.09.17 21:43

A quieter form of campaigning, broadening the political issues? Does he mean stirring up discord between the Portuguese and British in order to deflect attention away from himself? What other political issues did he want to campaign on behalf of? He doesn't half talk a lot of drivel, I must say.

by Cmaryholmes 13.09.17 22:18

Verdi wrote:I think maybe I've found it..

Transcript:

Kirsty Wark: Okay, raise the lights now, and we'll take, errm... Gerry's agreed to take, errr.. some questions, which I think is important in this...

Question: Do you dread the day that the media interest and the public interest does disappear?

Gerry McCann: It... It's not dread, errm... I... errr... as I said, even in week three or four, and what happened, errm... in about the middle of June, after about five or six weeks, things were going really very, very quiet and I was actually, errm... quite glad of that and I thought we would start to get back to a sort of more normal existence and a... a quieter form of campaigning, errm... you know, using the internet, viral... raising, errm... broadening the issues, the political issues, which have been highlighted to us and I saw that as the long term focus and, as I have already alluded to, I don't think necessarily having newspaper headlines of the image of Madeleine, errr... being thrust to people every single day actually may help, so not particularly. What we dread is the worst news that, you know, Madeleine is not alive.

Is that Victoria Derbyshire asking the question?

by Guest 13.09.17 23:53

Cmaryholmes wrote:
Verdi wrote:I think maybe I've found it..

Transcript:

Kirsty Wark: Okay, raise the lights now, and we'll take, errm... Gerry's agreed to take, errr.. some questions, which I think is important in this...

Question: Do you dread the day that the media interest and the public interest does disappear?

Gerry McCann: It... It's not dread, errm... I... errr... as I said, even in week three or four, and what happened, errm... in about the middle of June, after about five or six weeks, things were going really very, very quiet and I was actually, errm... quite glad of that and I thought we would start to get back to a sort of more normal existence and a... a quieter form of campaigning, errm... you know, using the internet, viral... raising, errm... broadening the issues, the political issues, which have been highlighted to us and I saw that as the long term focus and, as I have already alluded to, I don't think necessarily having newspaper headlines of the image of Madeleine, errr... being thrust to people every single day actually may help, so not particularly. What we dread is the worst news that, you know, Madeleine is not alive.
Is that Victoria Derbyshire asking the question?

Nah - Clarence Mitchell! Redundancy on the horizon big grin

.

by Cmaryholmes 14.09.17 9:00

Ca T

Verdi wrote:
Cmaryholmes wrote:
Verdi wrote:I think maybe I've found it..

Transcript:

Kirsty Wark: Okay, raise the lights now, and we'll take, errm... Gerry's agreed to take, errr.. some questions, which I think is important in this...

Question: Do you dread the day that the media interest and the public interest does disappear?

Gerry McCann: It... It's not dread, errm... I... errr... as I said, even in week three or four, and what happened, errm... in about the middle of June, after about five or six weeks, things were going really very, very quiet and I was actually, errm... quite glad of that and I thought we would start to get back to a sort of more normal existence and a... a quieter form of campaigning, errm... you know, using the internet, viral... raising, errm... broadening the issues, the political issues, which have been highlighted to us and I saw that as the long term focus and, as I have already alluded to, I don't think necessarily having newspaper headlines of the image of Madeleine, errr... being thrust to people every single day actually may help, so not particularly. What we dread is the worst news that, you know, Madeleine is not alive.
Is that Victoria Derbyshire asking the question?
Nah - Clarence Mitchell! Redundancy on the horizon .

It's Kaye Adams (probably).... a roomful (or half full ) of media luvvies it seems.

by Guest 14.09.17 11:48

Cmaryholmes wrote:It's Kaye Adams (probably).... a roomful (or half full ) of media luvvies it seems.

@ 00:21 seconds, definitely Kaye Adams..

Culture Corner JS50581440

Didn't pull in the crowds did it?

by Guest 14.09.17 12:00

What was Gerry McCann even doing at the Edinburgh TV festival? According to his blog he..

"Travelled to Edinburgh this afternoon and managed to keep up the aerobic exercise with 25 minutes in the gym. I then met up with one of our friends who has been instrumental in distributing images of Madeleine and who produced the DVD of her to ‘Don’t you forget about me’. We had a bite to eat and took the chance to update each other on what has been happening in the last few weeks."

Jon Corner it would appear, which would certainly explain how McCann came to be sat on the Kirsty Wark throne - aided and abetted by the Rachael Oldfield BBC connections. The name McCann always stands out when listed amongst other more notable names, not through importance, indeed the opposite.

The Richard Dunn Memorial Interview

Inaugurated in 1999 in memory of the respected former chairman of Thames Television, this platform is distinct in its remit to look at the personal business vision, creative strategy and management style of a major TV executive.

2014 Tessa Ross, Head of Film4
2013 (No Richard Dunn Memorial Interview)
2012 Michael Apted, Director
2011 Jon Thoday, Founder, Avalon Group
2010 Jimmy Mulville, Managing Director, Hat Trick Productions
2009 Robert Peston, BBC Business Editor
2008 Jamie Oliver 
2007 Gerry McCann 
2006 Luke Johnson, Chairman, Channel 4
2005 Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
2004 Simon Cowell
2003 Greg Dyke, Director General, BBC
2002 Chris Evans 
2001 Dawn Airey, Chief Executive, Channel 5
2000 Adam Singer, Chief Executive, Telewest Communications
1999 Charles Allen, Chairman, Granada Media Group & CEO, Granada Group

http://www.thetvfestival.com/festival/recent-events-festival-archive/past-keynote-speakers/

Gerry McCann, as always, is an irrelevance.

by **HiDeHo** 15.09.17 14:50

Thanks for finding the video Verdi. I have the same version.

Would have been easy to find if I was looking for 'Richard Dunn' :)

As usual,when I search for videos I come across so many long lost videos its days later before I emerge, but thanks to you it wasn't so time consuming :)

by Guest 15.09.17 15:15

HiDeHo wrote:Thanks for finding the video Verdi. I have the same version.

Would have been easy to find if I was looking for 'Richard Dunn' :)

As usual,when I search for videos I come across so many long lost videos its days later before I emerge, but thanks to you it wasn't so time consuming :)

Pleasure! Team work..

grouphug

Pity the video isn't more informative - appeared to be a bit of a non-event.

I have the same problem when looking for something specific. I'm so easily distracted, sometimes I forget what I was looking for in the first place big grin

.

by willowthewisp 15.09.17 15:54

Also appearing at 17.30pm at the Edinburgh film festival,was a cigar smoking reptile,wonder if Gerry ever met Jimmy,part of a special "Brotherhood" clan you might say?
To note in the original (Festival)Kirsty Walk interview with Gerry McCann,the list had a composed list of who was appearing that day,yet since mentioning a cigar smoking Reptile,that has been Whooshed,are you now censoring your own promotions,that instead of the 2007 list,a 2016 list,what are you afraid of?