The media will never change, not so long as the dual pressures of vanishing advertising revenues and 24 hour rolling news schedules to fill are in place. Leveson can invite as many ex-Prime Ministers and newspaper editors as he wants to spend an afternoon raising their profile and discussing their past ‘hurts’ at the hands of the media, but unless he can find another way to give them enough income to pay for sufficient hamsters to keep the rolling news going, nothing will change.

Right in the middle of the Leveson inquiry, we have had a classic example of the pain they cause to ordinary individuals, and the misinformation they manage to convey with a clever use of words, merely to keep the hits coming on their web sites.

Let’s see how good a ‘rolling news’ digital editor you could be. Here’s your tip off for a story, actually it came from a disreputable local paper in a far off country:

A middle-aged man travels halfway round the world, breaks into the garden of an elderly widow during the night and takes some pictures of her flower beds. Those, and the names of the parties involved, are your facts, nothing more. Worse, you can only mention one of the names, on account of having already been sued for ‘undisclosed damages’ for your previously defamatory allegations. Tough eh? What angle are you going to take? How about:

Elderly widow in far off country traumatised by dawn break-in? Not too many hits forthcoming with that one.

Obsessive amateur nobody has ever heard of from African continent travels to Europe pursuing crack-pot theory? Don’t see any ‘keywords’ there, do we?

Perpetrator of intercontinental trespass skedaddles back to own country before local police can nick him?  Nah, don’t give up the day job, you don’t have the thick skin and thin morals necessary to justify the high wages paid for a highly trained ‘investigative journalist’.

Try: Police Probe Madeleine ‘Grave’ Theory. Now that is good, excellent in fact. ‘Probe’ was just the right choice, could imply digging, or probing with a sharp instrument – but if challenged, you can truthfully say you just meant that they were probing, or looking into, the ‘theory’. Well done, and you managed to get in the keyword of the century – Madeleine! No need to bother with surnames, keep it snappy. That mention of the police gives it authority, makes it look as though there really is ‘something’ in this mention of a grave – you are good at this, my boy. I note that you carefully left out the name of the person who once lived at that house, who sued you over your previous claims. Good, good, the Legal department will be pleased with you. Voila! Now you have a zillion hits on your web site, your boss is pleased with you, and you can go off for a drink.

Don’t give a thought to the parents of Madeleine, who are still trying to keep the world aware of the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever that she is dead, merely bucket loads of Internet time given to a hundred thousand ‘opinions’. That doesn’t matter as much as your job.

Before you know it, the story has ‘legs’ as they say in the trade. Headlines like this zoom around the world:

A front page story! There’s another happy journalist gone home for the week-end feeling more confident about his job!

There is quite a different tale trailing in your wake. One that deserves the re-telling, since it only occurred as a result of your pursuit of headlines.

The Daily Express editor became “obsessed” with the Madeleine McCann story and put it on its front page repeatedly just to sell newspapers, the Leveson inquiry has heard.

Back in Portugal, a 76 year old woman who lives alone, woke to find that she was the centre of world attention once again, for it was her garden that had been illegally entered in the middle of the night by a group of men. Possibly, for it is not even certain that they entered the right garden – for she keeps a pair of professional guard dogs roaming her grounds at night to deal with such intruders, on account of the attention you drew to her before. I would too, if every newspaper in the world was publishing a map showing how to get to my garden and suggesting that the quest of the century might be found there.

Why would they be doing that? Well, Mrs Murat had a bi-lingual son who was brought up in Portugal, the Police used him sometimes to help translate when English speakers came to their attention. Not surprisingly, having translated the statements of some of the people who were with the McCann’s on holiday when Madeleine vanished in the night, he hung around watching the Police activity, nothing that dramatic had happened in Pria da Luz for centuries. One of the army of British newspapermen and women garnered some headlines when they pointed out to the Police that ‘it reminded them of the recent Soham murders’, where the perpetrator, Huntley, had hung around the police lines. Robert Murat was brought in for questioning, he became an ‘arguido‘.

A single man, blind in one eye, or to quote the Sun – ‘Dodgy-eyed Robert Murat’ – definitely a paedo, case cracked, game set and match for the media. It was to cost them £600,000 in damages. NO EVIDENCE was ever found against Robert Murat – hence the reluctance of the media to mention the site of their latest ‘exclusive’ – Maddie’s Grave!

The flood of worldwide speculation did more than just ruin Murat’s reputation, it set off an army of armchair detectives engaged in ‘McCluedo’. Fair comment, opinion, even speculation, is one thing; amongst their number there were darker creatures, true obsessives. Some became so convinced of their own sleuthing skills, based on part information, false newspaper stories, and downright misinformation, that they were utterly convinced that they knew the answer. Sadly amongst those who ‘knew the answer’ there were some who were prepared to take physical action to prove themselves right.

Prepared to invest £50,000, the price of a small house, in geo-thermal mapping equipment. Prepared to travel from South Africa to Portugal. Accompanied by three of four, the accounts vary, other men. Prepared to climb into the private garden of a house which may or may not belong to Murat’s 76 year old Mother; and take pictures of the terrain. Pictures which they allege show signs of earth disturbance, and what may be bones. Or may not be. Or may be animal bones. Or may be a sewage pipe.

They then send these pictures to the police – and call a press conference announcing that they are disappointed with the police response, and demand that ‘Maddie’s grave be dug up’.

That in itself is a sad enough situation; Murat’s garden, if the trespassers even had the right garden, had already been dug over extensively in 2007. The entire area had been extensively scanned and searched – even revealing the so called ‘secret room’ that Murat had. In fact an area of the basement of the house to which there was no access, had never had access since his Father built the house, so secret was it! The Portuguese investigation had many faults, but lack of attention to the Murat’s garden was not one of them.

What is truly sad, is that the British media know all this; yet are still prepared to go for a cheap headline. Even in the midst of the Leveson inquiry.

In their wake they have left a traumatised elderly widow, who will no doubt have to now take extra precautions for her security. Worse, the headlines around the world appear (carefully worded!) to confirm that Madeleine is dead. One and a half million results already on Google for ‘Madeleine McCann’s Grave Found’. Millions of people will read that and not bother to report the suspicious goings on in the house next door to them. Wouldn’t bother to report the little girl who might be Madeline, wouldn’t even bother to report what might sadly be Madeline’s grave.

For haven’t the trustworthy British media already reported that Madeline’s Grave has been found?

I am utterly shocked that they would do this before Leveson has pronounced judgment on their ethics – he doesn’t need to for me now. I’ll prejudge it. They don’t have any.

The headline’s more important than the lives of innocent people.

Grr!

Rob July 10, 2012 at 13:43

Smashing article. Couldn’t agree with you more.
Not bought a paper for
years and years, I think they are disgusting.
When the Levenson inquiry is
over they should consider having a live televised equivalent of the IPCC so
that we can see the journalists and editors grovel as they make excuses. The
new IPCC should be more like a court (visible to the public) which is where
most tabloid journalists belong most of the time.

Andrew July 10, 2012 at 00:50

“And of course, people like me have nothing to fear because we know how far
we can afford to go. We don’t abuse the right to Free Speech, so we don’t need
to be protected. That is the real issue. And if Free Speech means that I will
have a right to say whatever I please, no matter how Libellous or hurtful,
then I don’t want that right.”

If you have to know how far you can afford to go then you don’t have
freedom of speech.

And, in the UK, we don’t – if we say, or write,
The-Words-That-Must-Not-Be-Said we will be thrown in prison (as recently
demonstrated http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17515992 and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2151576/Woman-jailed-21-weeks-racist-Tube-rant-seen-YouTube.html).

Freedom of speech is for people who choose to say what isn’t currently
politically popular. And what is and isn’t is decided by the government of the
day. Why would you, or anyone, consider letting them choose what you get to
say to be a good thing?

Iraqis murdered… Afghans murdered… Libyans murdered… random Brazilian
electrician murdered… sentence: nothing (or promotion).

But if you say “naughty” things about any of the above… sentence:
prison.

Fuck that. And fuck anyone who supports it.

Elena ‘andcart
July 9, 2012 at 22:38

Ah well, Gilda. There you have it. iDave is a stupid, posh twat, But that
is hardly his fault. I blame his Mother, or The McCanns, like I would blame me
or The McCanns if my children were stupid, posh twats, which I suspect they
might be. But we don’t talk about that.
On balance I do believe that
something has to be done about The Media when it comes to the lives of
ordinary people. The Media is obviously incapable of governing itself.
Although I have absolutely nothing against exposing MPs when they are being a
bit naughty. but that isn’t quite the same thing, as well we all know. The MPs
Expenses Scandal was provable, while absolutely nothing has ever been proven
against The McCanns.
And of course, people like me have nothing to fear
because we know how far we can afford to go. We don’t abuse the right to Free
Speech, so we don’t need to be protected. That is the real issue. And if Free
Speech means that I will have a right to say whatever I please, no matter how
Libellous or hurtful, then I don’t want that right.

cascadian July 10, 2012 at 01:30

But the MP’s expenses scandal were not exposed by journalists. It took an
American researcher to pursue having the expenses exposed.

If it does not involve Pippa, Beckham or a multitude of other dimwits,
then it is not newsworthy, with the possible exception of press releases
that have been churned out by the “right-kind” of charities or environmental
groups. You will note that most of the complainants at Leveson are members
of the dim-wits group.

Elena
‘andcart July 10, 2012 at 02:11

This is just so not true. It has mostly been a bunch of Ex Prime
Ministers, Ex Politicians and Ex Editors, and all trying to pass the buck.
Okay, so it was only one Ex Prime Minister, but it felt like more than
one. And excuse me, but never in all my born days have I seen such a
Shower. It was embarrassing to watch. At least Rebekah Brooks came across
as half loyal to the person who employed her. And I like him too. Sorry
about that. Oh, and his wife. I wouldn’t want to meet her down a dark
alley, unless she was on my side.
Oh, sorry. Did you mean that all of
these people are Dim Wits? But then that’s not true either.
As for
ordinary people inadvertently involved in tragedies, forget it. They are
fair game. And if anyone thinks that £375,000 was enough to compensate
what The Media did to the McCanns then I can only suggest that it says
more for The McCanns than it does for The Media. The McCanns could have
crucified them if they had cared only about The Money.
If this is Free
Speech then you can have it for me because I don’t need it. I never fight
unless I am absolutely certain that I will win, and I don’t need Free
Speech to do that.

cascadian
July 10, 2012 at 05:43

I stand corrected, your description of the multitude of Politicians
tut-tutting and bemoaning low standards in the press while ignoring
their own greed and lies are indeed a shower. Dim-wits is redundant in
their case, that is a given.

My comments were made to the complainants who have come
forward namely Heather Mills, Paul McCartney, Hugh Grant, Max Mosley,
Bob Crow and their ilk-dimwits all (and moneygrubbing dimwits at that),
who are unashamed to admit that they could not enter a four digit “code”
to access their messaging or e-mail account. Like you I was impressed by
the Murdoch camp far more than our politicians.

I make no comment on the McCanns as I have ignored the tragic
events.

Ted Treen
July 10, 2012 at 13:37

I do take your point re codes for voicemail, but:- having said
that, I must confess I haven’t set one for mine. This is partly idle
inertia, but mostly because any voicemail is likely to be along the
lines of “Can you pick up some milk on your way home?” from SWMBO,
“I’m running late but I’ll be at the pub soon” from my son (so that
I’ll get the drinks in), or even “Don’t you think you’ve been at the
pub long enough?” again, from SWMBO.

If I had any particular reason to keep my voicemails totally
confidential, I’d probably set a password, but along with many other
online people today, I’m beginning to suffer from password
fatigue…

cascadian July 9, 2012 at 18:44

The horrendous costs of the Leveson Inquiry (which you cannot afford) could
be ended today, if somebody had the wit to ignore the ridiculous
“fact-finding” and ask one simple question-If people have so little regard for
their e-mail messaging privacy that they do not set a “password code” then do
they deserve privacy?

Stupidity should have a cost, are we to have an inquiry about car “theft”
when people leaving their ignition keys in the car and the engines
running?

PS The “news”papers now inform me that “brave” Andy Murray will concentrate
on Olympic gold, along with all the other “brave” Brit competitors-good luck
with that. In real news a Brit is leading the Tour de France, and is pretty
much unreported because Pippa and Beckman are not watching. There was more
worthwhile reading in my weekly copy of the Beano than a years worth of todays
newspapers

alan scott
July 9, 2012 at 20:45

Cascadian. Well put. My heart BLEEDS for Murray, poor fellow. He should
relocate to Monaco or somewhere.

Ed P July 9, 2012 at 17:34

Made me think of Proust

Joe Public July 9, 2012 at 17:31

With acknowledgement to Norman Stanley Fletcher from an early episode of
Porridge:-

Sometimes I half-wish a nosey neighbour would ‘suggest’ to our local
constabulary that suspicious activity occurred in my back garden. The weeds
are knee high & the soil would benefit from a good ‘turning-over’.

Elena ‘andcart
July 9, 2012 at 18:00

I would have charged Jenny Murat not much short of 2,000 Euros to do what
The PJ did to her garden, and that’s just looking at photographs. And they
probably cleared the way for better access to her Back Gate. It was all
horribly overgrown, and that sort of Industrial Gardening doesn’t come
cheap. And I do know because I earn a living doing this sort of thing. All
win, win for Jenny Murat at that stage because The PJ found absolutely
nothing. End of story, you might think.
Now? No chance, unless The
Portuguese State want a massive Law Suit on their hands. Personally, I have
spent years hoping that someone would Libel me, but no one with any money
ever does.

Anna
Raccoon July 9, 2012 at 18:29

“hoping that someone would Libel me, but no one with any money ever
does”.

I’ll put my mind to it petal, not got a great deal of money, but
probably still worth suing.

I’ll see what I can come up with …stand by!

Elena
‘andcart July 9, 2012 at 19:06

Will the proceeds pay for my Pensioner’s train fare down to Bergerac,
and the cost of the stress of six hours on a train without benefit of a
fag or ten, although I have to say that six hours without a fag is
probably more awful to contemplate.
But you could try accusing me of
working on The Black since no one in their right mind is ever going to
believe that. I can barely walk, let alone work, and I can do a mean
Hysterical Fit when the mood takes me. Que, is about my limit of The
French Language. And The Gendarmes around here are very kind to old
people because they’ve all got old mothers who work on The Black.

GildasTheMonk
July 9, 2012 at 16:16

A nasty press but a free press, not a muzzled press.

Elena ‘andcart
July 9, 2012 at 16:49

All well and good, but I am not sure that I agree. The Media by covering
their arses have failed to explain that this poor woman’s garden has already
been torn to shreds twice, and nothing was found. So is this what it will
be? Innuendo and Suggestion? And absolutely no right to defend because no
one person has actually been Libelled?
Meanwhile, The Public at large
think that Madeleine’s body has been discovered.

Anna
Raccoon July 9, 2012 at 17:06

Given that the original insinuations were that the figure seen
‘carrying a child’ within minutes of the alleged abduction was actually
the person who had buried the child in the middle of the Murat’s drive,
but that ‘the Murat’s didn’t know anything about it’ – I just wonder what
sort of loon brain they think that is, who goes to the trouble of
abducting a child, kills them and then digs up a total strangers driveway
in full view of the world in order to bury the body.
Still, with a book
to sell, and the British media doing their publicity for them, who’s the
idiot?
Oh, and dead handy that Levy character being at the airport to
trip over the exclusive interview – what a piece of luck for him?

Elena
‘andcart July 9, 2012 at 17:44

Anna, Stephen Birch also said that The Man seen carrying a child was
a friend of The McCanns, and that The McCanns were seen outside Robert
Murat’s house at 10.20 pm on the 3rd of May, which would have been very
shortly after Madeleine was supposedly buried. This would have been
pretty nearly impossible, but The Public at Large won’t know this. Not
that it really matters. Even The Portuguese Judiciary don’t believe
this. But it has set the cat among the pigeons, because every nasty
theory of Goncalo Amaral is now being debunked. So much for Eddie The
Wonder Woofer.
A Book? In what Country? Publishers aren’t as daft as
The Media. But he could always Self Publish I suppose. Presuming he
could then sell it.
As for Duarte Levy, it didn’t take long to track
down his whereabouts. About 24 hours, although I have no idea what he
was doing in Lisbon and on The Algarve at the time.
This is such a
crock of shite that you would have to be brain dead to believe it. But
then some of them are.

GildasTheMonk July 9, 2012 at 21:32

I am not familiar with the details of the case. The issue is
whether one has a nasty but free press (but, I agree, not free from
sanction) or a muzzled but annodine press. On the whole, I think
freedom is the better option. The MP’s expenses scandal is the best
example of how “illegal” behaviour is in the public interest. MP’s
have never forgiven the press for the kicking they rightly got. Now it
is pay back time! Although I suspect when he set up Leveson, IDave
never ever imagined that his texts to the beautiful Rebekah (be still
my beating heart) would have become the fodder of the
inquiry!
Stupid posh twat

GildasTheWise July 10, 2012 at 14:03

Anasty free press is worse than a nasty muzzled press

The Meissen
Bison July 10, 2012 at 17:12

Neues Deutschland, Rude Pravo, Trybuna Ludu – all excellent titles of
yesteryear and as muzzled as you could hope for.

Friend of Dog
July 9, 2012 at 16:12

This type of ‘scoop’ is the reason that journalists are known in some
circles as reptiles.

BrenR1958 July 9, 2012 at 15:36

Spot on Anna…. the media don’t care, Leveson might aswell pack up and go
home for the day… NOTHING will change. Kate and Gerry McCann sat in a Court
Room and under oath told the world what those headlines did to them.. they
told the world they wanted to shout out, “Stop this is not true.” But did the
media listen? Journalists sat there under oath and said that they didn’t check
their facts out properly and they just run with the headlines that were
emerging from the PT media via Portuguese Police leaks…. Have they changed
their ways? No.

Again the family of Madeleine McCann are having to deal with this along
with Mrs Murat who now will never feel safe in her own home.

How long before some nutter decides to take a spade to the Murat’s garden
himself?

Elena ‘andcart
July 9, 2012 at 16:06

That is what is worrying me. Who is going to start digging? Pat Brown is
already in hot pursuit of this latest nutter, and is organising her own
ground searching equipment, spades, and diggers, but she doesn’t say where
exactly. This is probably due to the fact that The British Media ignored her
the last time when she went digging around Portuguese Ancient Burial Grounds
with a Trowel and a Metal Detector. So at least The British Media have some
reservations. But then Pat Brown didn’t upset any elderly widows. How the
Ancient Gods feel about it remains to be seen. But I suspect They might have
more clout than Lord Justice Leveson appears to be having at the moment.
This could depend on where Karma is buried and who finally pisses Her
off.

Rob July 10, 2012 at 14:02

Or to Murat