A valid comment also from Tony Bennett.
Madeleine McCann, Joanna Yeates and the Media. Joanna invited male for drinks
In the Joanna case the police had a suspect and arrested him. He was later released on bail because the police had no hard evidence. As far as I’m aware he’s still being treated as a suspect until, presumably, he can be either completely eliminated or charged. The McCann couple were also arrested but on suspicion of hiding a cadaver; they too were later released when their arguido status was lifted because there was no hard evidence.
The Portuguese police were labelled keystone cops; bungling cops; sardine munchers and goodness knows what else despite the fact that, as later revealed in the police case files, their investigation was both thorough and extensive, starting from the McCann abduction scenario and later working (at the request of the British police) towards a possible homicide. The police working on the Joanna Yeates case are now being portrayed in the same light – they haven’t done enough etc – but they've also been exhaustive in their searches so far, but it’s early days for them yet. The difference between the two cases is that in one case there is no body to work with (if Madeleine had indeed died) and in the other there is.
But probably the most important factor in both cases is what the mainstream media have fed, and continue to feed, the public. Now we have the Telegraph apparently quoting the Sun newspaper (no link in the Telegraphs article to the apparent Sun article) without apparently checking any facts. They start off with a paragraph that will no doubt grip the nation:
They quickly move into:
The Telegraph decide to move onto ever skiddier slopes:
The possible red-herrings in this case are fast catching up with the national quota for the Portuguese fishing industry.
The Portuguese police were labelled keystone cops; bungling cops; sardine munchers and goodness knows what else despite the fact that, as later revealed in the police case files, their investigation was both thorough and extensive, starting from the McCann abduction scenario and later working (at the request of the British police) towards a possible homicide. The police working on the Joanna Yeates case are now being portrayed in the same light – they haven’t done enough etc – but they've also been exhaustive in their searches so far, but it’s early days for them yet. The difference between the two cases is that in one case there is no body to work with (if Madeleine had indeed died) and in the other there is.
But probably the most important factor in both cases is what the mainstream media have fed, and continue to feed, the public. Now we have the Telegraph apparently quoting the Sun newspaper (no link in the Telegraphs article to the apparent Sun article) without apparently checking any facts. They start off with a paragraph that will no doubt grip the nation:
“Murdered landscape architect Joanna Yeates sent a text message to a male friend inviting him out for a drink on the night she disappeared, it has emerged.”Shock!
They quickly move into:
“The friend did not reply to the text message and is believed to have been a sleep when the 25-year-old sent it, according to The Sun newspaper.”According to the Sun! Surely journalists working for the Telegraph have the ability and means to check whether or not this story is true? But then there is no link from the Telegraph article to the apparent original link to the Sun article from which they apparently lifted the story from.
The Telegraph decide to move onto ever skiddier slopes:
“Sources told the paper that the friend is now wracked with guilt about not replying and believes had he responded he might have saved her.”Sources no less – so the news hasn’t come from the ‘male friend’ that Joanna is supposed to have sent a text to?
“It is understood that Miss Yeates sent the text message between leaving a pub at 8pm in Bristol and buying cider at an off-licence at 8.20pm on December 17.”The connotations of this particular sentence reek of possibilities for follow up stories...perhaps that’s the intention? I can almost hear the fingers tapping away now as journalists fill their screens: Was Joanna having an affair? Did Greg suspect and planned a weekend away only to use it an attempt to ‘catch her out’ – Was the ‘male friend’ really asleep or did he visit Joanna that night?
The possible red-herrings in this case are fast catching up with the national quota for the Portuguese fishing industry.
