Was Paxman correct, McCanns "collaborated with them when it was convenient"?

[Carana]

As I’ve said before, if the McCanns had been media shy and refused to share details of their missing daughter with the public this would almost certainly have been taken as evidence of guilt by McCann critics, IMO, so therefore as usual they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

Even the scramble to get photos printed that night for the police and other local search teams was considered highly suspicious...

[G-Unit]

Some people are saying the McCann's went about trying to find their child the wrong way,   it is so easy to say that when never being in the position the McCann's were in.    Take Kerry Needham a parent who WAS in the same position,  she said she would have welcomed the media attention that the McCann's had for Madeleine,  that is a woman who was faced with the same horrific dilemma,   she would have done the same she said in her book.


So instead of putting the McCann's down,  try and picture yourself in the same situation as the McCann's were.  Their child missing,   in a foreign  country,   the Police who didn't want any publicity.  What would YOU actually do if you saw the time ticking away on your child?


For those who say they would have stayed silent left it all to the police,  remember they are probably the ones who say the McCann's didn't join the search party when they were giving statements to the police,  the ones who say they should have ran around Portugal searching for Madeleine,   drawing attention to themselves,  and not obeying what the Police had said.   Do they not think that even if the McCann's had stayed silent,  someone who was in the search party for Madeleine wouldn't have mentioned it to a relative at home?   Something like that would never have been kept a secret,    the time for secrets had passed.

Your post is based on an assumption; that there is no doubt about 'the position the McCanns were in'. I don't know beyond reasonable doubt what position they were in.

[Brietta]

he says, the iris “is Madeleine’s only true distinctive feature. Certainly we thought it was possible that this could potentially hurt her or”—he grimaces—“her abductor might do something to her eye.… But in terms of marketing, it was a good ploy.”
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/02/mccanns200802

The mark in Madeleine's eye was publicised at the request of Goncalo Amaral http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=9501.msg462329#msg462329

From the PJ press release " ... o direito verde com uma marca castanha na pupila"  Is it your contention this publicity put Madeleine or her eye at risk? http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MADELINE.htm#p1p33

In my opinion the opprobrium you are heaping on Kate and Gerry McCann for this release of information rightly should belong to Goncalo Amaral.
Amaral instigated the press release and all it contained in my opinion rightly so.  That Kate and Gerry collaborated with the press in the dissemination of what the Portuguese police considered important information obviously intended for publication ... it is a Press Release ... in my opinion, cannot realistically be criticised in the way it has been here and elsewhere.

[faithlilly]

Please provide a cite for "Gerry admitted himself that their campaign could have harmed pushed the alleged abductor into harming Madeleine."

I’m sure you’ve seen it before but here it is again, from Vanity Fayre about the ‘Look Into My Eyes’ campaign.

“We thought it was possible this could hurt her. Her abductor might do something to her eye. But in marketing terms it was a good ploy”

This is probably one of the coldest, most soulless things I have ever heard Gerry say.....and there’s been a few.

[faithlilly]

Some people are saying the McCann's went about trying to find their child the wrong way,   it is so easy to say that when never being in the position the McCann's were in.    Take Kerry Needham a parent who WAS in the same position,  she said she would have welcomed the media attention that the McCann's had for Madeleine,  that is a woman who was faced with the same horrific dilemma,   she would have done the same she said in her book.


So instead of putting the McCann's down,  try and picture yourself in the same situation as the McCann's were.  Their child missing,   in a foreign  country,   the Police who didn't want any publicity.  What would YOU actually do if you saw the time ticking away on your child?


For those who say they would have stayed silent left it all to the police,  remember they are probably the ones who say the McCann's didn't join the search party when they were giving statements to the police,  the ones who say they should have ran around Portugal searching for Madeleine,   drawing attention to themselves,  and not obeying what the Police had said.   Do they not think that even if the McCann's had stayed silent,  someone who was in the search party for Madeleine wouldn't have mentioned it to a relative at home?   Something like that would never have been kept a secret,    the time for secrets had passed.

If the McCanns had no experience of publicising a missing child then they should have left it to the experts.....it really is as simple as that.

[G-Unit]

The mark in Madeleine's eye was publicised at the request of Goncalo Amaral http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=9501.msg462329#msg462329

From the PJ press release " ... o direito verde com uma marca castanha na pupila"  Is it your contention this publicity put Madeleine or her eye at risk? http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MADELINE.htm#p1p33

In my opinion the opprobrium you are heaping on Kate and Gerry McCann for this release of information rightly should belong to Goncalo Amaral.
Amaral instigated the press release and all it contained in my opinion rightly so.  That Kate and Gerry collaborated with the press in the dissemination of what the Portuguese police considered important information obviously intended for publication ... it is a Press Release ... in my opinion, cannot realistically be criticised in the way it has been here and elsewhere.

The content and tone of the PJ press release and the posters released by the McCann Team are quite different in my opinion.

[slartibartfast]

The press are held in check not just by Carter Ruck but by the law of libel... You are now introducing a hypothetical situation where  CR run away..lawyers do not run away from easy money... Libel the mccanns and they know they will be sued

Who said anything about libel?

[Brietta]

I’m sure you’ve seen it before but here it is again, from Vanity Fayre about the ‘Look Into My Eyes’ campaign.

“We thought it was possible this could hurt her. Her abductor might do something to her eye. But in marketing terms it was a good ploy”

This is probably one of the coldest, most soulless things I have ever heard Gerry say.....and there’s been a few.

Please explain why it apparently was wrong for Kate and Gerry to publicise the 'marketing ploy' using the mark in Madeleine's eye but it was apparently fine for Amaral to publicise it in an official press release despite the inherent dangers recognised by her father in doing so.

Don't you think it may be that a three year old child usually has few if any features distinguishing her from another three year old child? and if missing any tool to hand which might help in her rescue ~ which in Madeleine's case was the mark in her eye which made her right eye easily distinguishable from the eyes of other children was the only tool in the box for both her parents and the PJ?

[slartibartfast]

As I’ve said before, if the McCanns had been media shy and refused to share details of their missing daughter with the public this would almost certainly have been taken as evidence of guilt by McCann critics, IMO, so therefore as usual they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

So your argument is that they were right to do what they did because the other course of action, even though it’s outcome is unknown, would be equally as bad for them?

[G-Unit]

I’m sure you’ve seen it before but here it is again, from Vanity Fayre about the ‘Look Into My Eyes’ campaign.

“We thought it was possible this could hurt her. Her abductor might do something to her eye. But in marketing terms it was a good ploy”

This is probably one of the coldest, most soulless things I have ever heard Gerry say.....and there’s been a few.

So Gerry thought it was a good idea to use Madeleine's eye defect/coloboma/fleck in their marketing campaign but Kate denies it when speaking to Piers Morgan;

KMcC: If I'm honest, we haven't put too much emphasis on her eye
http://frommybigdesk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/kate-mccann-we-havent-put-too-much.html

[Brietta]

The content and tone of the PJ press release and the posters released by the McCann Team are quite different in my opinion.

In my opinion they contain the same information. 

In my opinion the posters released by Madeleine's parents are more memorable than those released by the PJ.

No-one appears to pay much attention to the original PJ release if they even remember it. 

In my opinion most people recognise those released by her parents immediately ... and in my opinion it is a 'marketing brand' the press have adopted seamlessly ... which is why Madeleine's name is still prominently out there and in the lack of further information about how to keep a missing person's information in the public eye that is a bit of an achievement.

[Mr Gray]

If the McCanns had no experience of publicising a missing child then they should have left it to the experts.....it really is as simple as that.

Perhaps the mccanns didn't see  the pj as experts

[faithlilly]

Perhaps the mccanns didn't see  the pj as experts

It wasn’t up to the McCanns to decide.

[Brietta]

Straying off topic again ... please base argument even if loosely on "Was Paxman correct, McCanns "collaborated with them when it was convenient"?"  Thank you

[Mr Gray]

It wasn’t up to the McCanns to decide.

It was ...just as it was up to the parents of Ashya King to decide if the advice of the uk doctors was, the best for their son... Sometimes parents have to question professionals