Over the top
McCann radio debate slammed
The ongoing saga of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has now developed from just another (admittedly important) news story into full-blown media hysteria over the past few weeks, and is even starting to affect certain parts of the BBC to such an extent that impartiality rules are now starting to be openly broken.
This certainly seems to be the case regarding a particular Radio 5 Live phone-in and a Radio Leeds poll that carelessly asked its listeners whether or not they still had sympathy for Madeleine's parents after formal charges were made by the Portugese authorities. It now appears to be the case that certain journalists are being dragged along by a general media frenzy.
It's interesting that 'popular demand' should be dictating the manner of reporting as well as the day's news agenda, with the need to satisfy a theoretical appetite for news on the case overriding normal editorial controls in some quarters, although the subsequent lack of self-control especially within the commercial sector (TV, radio and print) has now become a major factor.
What didn't help was the fact that it was a very high profile story from day one, and although all the initial pleas for help were justifiable, the media seemed to lack the self-control required to back off when the situation started to change. Reporting on the case has proved to be a 'ratings winner' for news bulletins and seems to be the driving force behind the frenzy.
Another key issue relates to the fact that major news outlets - or to be more precise the journalists working for them - may have felt that they had been deceived by subsequent events (some had backed the prospect of potential suspect Robert Murat being found guilty), or annoyed at the potential prospect of having being misled by the parents.
This in turn caused these same news outlets to become hostile both on their own terms and on behalf of their viewers/listeners or readers. Combine this agenda with the feeding frenzy generated by media outlets that are currently desperate for every last viewer/listener or reader and the scene was set for a level of media interest perhaps unheard of since 9/11.
Portugese secrecy laws may have also contributed to thinly-veiled charges of xenophobia in relation to 'foreign police incompetence', ie. no new facts available therefore the police must be 'lazy'; never mind the requirement to properly research and corroborate facts when there are 24-hour news channels hanging on every word out there.
More importantly, a relative lack of information has encouraged rampant speculation and (more worringly) myth, such as garbled guesswork in relation to the actual distance between the parents and the child at the time when she disappeared. All of this has in turn generated a media 'vicious circle' which will only be broken when someone is formally charged.
In theory, the BBC shouldn't have anything to do with speculation and misreporting that panders to the notion of justice at all costs the perceived demand for news that has affected most of the UK media outlets, but emotions are running very high on all sides and this is starting to cloud judgement in areas which shouldn't be affected under any circumstances.
People have traditionally looked to the BBC for the most reliable and impartial news source available, and it's sad to note that operational pressures are now causing the same problems as they are elsewhere. The BBC has to improve its standing in this regard otherwise more and more people will start to question the ultimate value of the licence fee as a consequence.
