Maleleine McCann - Who ?

This is a pure unadulterated soapbox type rant. I just need to have a blowout and then I can move on. I may upset some people, but it's just my personal rant and it doesn't make me a bad person !

I simply long for the day when the title of this post becomes a reality. I know it was a very sad and possibly tragic occurrence but for God's sake can we all just let it drop now. If there are any DEFINITE developments, then by all means lets us know but stop these seemingly endless reports and entire tv shows about this family when there is no justifiable reason for them...........unless to 'keep this story high in the public consciousness'.

That's just not acceptable.

I have never known a couple who have so manipulated the media for their own ends so effectively for such a long period of time. There is yet another show on UK tv tonight about them called "McCanns : The Witch Hunt"

The blurb for the show states that the tragic disappearance of Madeleine has been described as the human interest story of the decade. Excuse me, but by whom ? The show's producers presumably. It goes on to say........but have the media compromised their journalistic standards in the hunt for the next big headline and are Madeleine's parents paying the price.

Journalistic standards ? Isn't that an oxymoron for a start ??? And as for the parents paying the price. Holy crap but that's rich. Lets have a program about where the 'fighting fund' money has gone. I'm sure the little people who donated their hard earned money to various funds would like to know how it was used. I'm sure they didn't expect any to be used for mortgage repayments.

I just love how TV companies always put themselves above 'the media' as if they're not a part of it. They do shows about the paparazzi and conveniently forget the fact that when crowds of cameramen are fighting for yet more images of Paris Hilton or some other nonentity, TV crews are in the scrum too. Someone needs to tell them that having a TV camera with an ITN or BBC News identifier on it makes it no different to the camera of a paparazzi working for some trashy tabloid or sleeze magazine.

It seems that if a week goes by without some footage of a McCann going back to work or walking along to the shops, then we need a whole show dedicated to some aspect of their lives - lest we forget about them. Oh perish the thought.

Talk about the classic 'all publicity is good publicity' phrase. This couple have lost, or murdered, their child. All very tragic either way. But the only reason this event could possibly be described as the human interest story of the decade is because they've played the media game and come out stunning winners. Their images, words and thoughts have been in our faces relentlessly for months. Everyone from pop stars to footballers, politicians to the Pope have been roped into this media circus with the parents cracking the ringmaster's whip.

Enough already. I contacted McCannitis after only a few days and now I'm in danger of lapsing into a McCannacoma. This is when one's eyes glaze over at the very mention of the name and one's mind drifts off to some distant land where the name means nothing. That'd be just about any country outside of the UK....oh and America. Better add Australia. Then there's Portugal and Spain of course.....most of Europe, probably South America too. Certainly Mexico. All English speaking nations. The International Space Station ??

Dammit they've reached everywhere. The McCanns have managed something Rupert Murdoch could only dream about - global domination.