The BBC are reporting this. Far be it for me to tell the BBC how to do its job. However, I challenge the report. I find nothing wrong with the headline, nor with the opening paragraph. Full marks for reporting missing rather than abducted. However, "four-year-old vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on 3 May". This is incorrect, Madeleine was only 3 when she vanished. If, for example, she died on that day, or even sometime the day before, then Madeleine would still only be 3. It was the McCanns who added the extra birthday, making Madeleine 4, had she been alive to celebrate it. The reports of the sniffer dogs smelling death, if correct, would rule out this. So, for the sake of clarity, can the BBC and all other media organisations please stick to the factual age when Madeleine went missing?
"Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, went missing from the Algarve holiday apartment while her parents ate in a nearby restaurant". We do not know that Madeleine went missing at that time. All we do know is that Madeleine is missing. It was Kate McCann who declared that Madeleine went missing during that time. Can the BBC please not keep misleading people?
"The McCanns have backed a scheme aimed at letting parents and staff know what steps to take as soon as a child goes missing on holiday.
Code Madeleine is based on Code Adam in the US, named after abducted six-year-old Adam Walsh".
This appears as though the BBC endorses not only what the McCanns are doing but also the scheme. Until the McCanns are in the clear, I feel that the BBC should make it clear that it does not endorse this. A Code Madeleine at this time is not appropriate, simply because it has been suggested by the McCanns and would be tainted if the McCanns are themselves suspects. By this term suspects, I do not refer to them as police suspects, that is a matter for the police. I refer to them as suspects based purely on the facts. Surely, the McCanns have some explaining to do?
Hat-Tip to Zinzin for the BBC report.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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Showing posts with label BBC report on Madeleine is factually inaccurate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC report on Madeleine is factually inaccurate. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
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