Mac's Musings
The Big McCann Question
19/09/2007The McCann's personal tragedy and nightmare provides little insight into forensic science. But it offers a fascinating view of the workings of the media.
The story has presented Fleet Street and broadcasters with one of its biggest challenges since the Lord Lucan mystery: how to fill thousands of column inches and hours of air time with very little. The only difference being that when his lordship disappeared we had just three terrestrial TV channels, a fraction of BBC network radio and the limitations of hot metal printing. There was no rolling 24-hour news, none of today's 700+ radio stations, 400+ TV channels and far fewer than today's 3,000 newspapers and magazines. And there were lots of journalists.
Today there's a much smaller army of relatively lowly-paid hacks trying to fill acres of column inches and oceans of air time. And there would have been no problem if the McCann's story had reached a conclusion in a couple of weeks or so. But how do you find a new news line every day, let alone every hour, without a little repetition?
Easy-peasy! You speculate......or, in the case of the tabloids , you make it up. It's been a singularly unedifying spectacle to watch the nightly performances by a succession of BBC, ITN and Sky reporters as they try to fill their slot with the very worst examples of 'Going Live' syndrome.
Glossary:
Reporter: 'Yes, as you say, it's been a day of frenetic activity at this villa behind me in Praia da Luz....'
Translation: 'I'll just repeat everything you said in the studio introduction in London as it will fill a few seconds......' (the villa, by the way, is almost invisible as it's dark)
Reporter: 'Police have spent the day carrying out a meticulous, finger-tip search of the apartment......'
Translation: 'I have absolutely no idea what's going on inside the house and it would be against the law in Portugal to give you any details if I did know....'
Reporter: 'Locals in this quiet fishing village are saying little about what they think may have happened.....'
Translation: 'I don't speak a word of Portuguese and they don't speak a word of English so it's anyone's guess what they think. Damn it! I've tried......'
Reporter: 'The McCanns walked alone in silence, hand-in-hand along the beach......'
Translation: ' The McCanns could barely move for the crush of cameramen, photographers and reporters who have hounded them every time they try to get a breath of fresh air. And they're walking in silence lest anything they say could be misheard, misconstrued, misquoted or against the law in Portugal.....'
Reporter: 'Arguidos......'
Translation: 'Nice word! I think it means "suspects", or so I'm told. But I'm going to keep on using it, delivering with an interesting Latin intonation so it shows I'm well embedded in Portugal.....'
Reporter: 'This investigation is likely to go for some time.....'
Translation: 'No one - least of all the police - have any idea what happened but it's been quite a decent summer here in Portugal, I've had some very agreeable meals and vinho with my chums on the other channels and we're in no rush to get back to a cold and wet autumn in London......'
Reporter: 'So, back to you in the studio......'
Translation: 'Thank heavens that's over for another few hours. I'm off for a well-earned lager. All this speculation is thirsty work.....'
And that's just the broadcasters. What about the 'Gentlemen of the Press'? My translation of their offerings would be unprintable!
