the pope seems to have this covered.

shouldn't you europeans be more worried about being nuked by russia?

I don't think anyone's making that out.

I think we're just questioning whether the level of media attention is warranted, is rational, is productive.

I have empathy for the parents - by the way, I'm not sure one needs to be a parent to understand their pain - but I can see why other parents would in particular be shocked by this: it's their worst fear.

All the same - three weeks of this media circus? No column inches left for Darfur, Iraq, Palestine, the endless other atrocities that objectively cause wider spread suffering every day.

I hope the kid turns up safe and sound.

B_M_L wrote:You people are so insensitive! Wow...

Kid gets snatched and y'all make out like it's ok and that her folks should just get over it, and that parents in shouldn't feel any empathy for them. F'sake.

Agreed.

The reaction to this child abduction is the proper reaction to any child abduction/murder. Rather than saying 'well, this wouldn't be happening if the parents were Glaswegian smack-heads, it's only because of the post parents...blah-blah-blah', wouldn't it be better, kinder, more decent, more human to say 'this should happen regardless; this is the proper, empathetic, human reaction.'?

Furthermore, the primary victim is a small girl. Not the parents.

To those who choose to whine about the coverage, I suggest you check your heads.

B_M_L wrote:I was just kidding in my previous post by the way....

Oops I just took you completely seriously!

My apologies, I look like an idiot.

B_M_L wrote:The resort that they were staying at has a policy which encourages parents to do this. The parents are given monitors for the rooms and staff members are normally stationed around the hotel to listen out for crying children. It's part of their marketing material that it is safe in this way. I doubt they will be using it in the future though.

Wow, hours and hours of coverage and acres of column inches and I never heard this.

I sniff a lawsuit in the near future.

simmo wrote:All the same - three weeks of this media circus? No column inches left for Darfur, Iraq, Palestine, the endless other atrocities that objectively cause wider spread suffering every day.

No column inches left?

Are you certain of this? I've not noticed that there have been no column inches left in any UK paper.

Which papers in particular have had no column inches left?

tommydski wrote:2. They decided in their grief it would be help to meet the Pope?

Her parents have said they're prepared to do more or less anything to keep the case in the public eye and have recently even taken on a paid advisor to help with the media campaign. It's easy to be cynical about this and regardless of what you think of the coverage their logic is understandable given their situation - so far the abduction has only generated attention in the UK/Eire and Portugal and by going to the Vatican it raises the profile across the European mainland where they're probably correct in assuming she's very likely to be held captive.

Ok, that was a metaphorical turn of phrase.

I more meant:- fewer (or no) headlines; focus turned away from.

Adam CR wrote:To those who choose to whine about the coverage, I suggest you check your heads.

Adam it is about the balance and it is also about the prejudice and bias built into the mainstream press.
This is worth flagging up.
And it's why we're whining about it (or why I am whining about it anyway).

You say that this is what should happen whenever a child goes missing and I am whining because it never would happen universally that way.

There is a class/race/aesthetic decision making process that goes on in a press office (verbalised or not) and that is sick.

And this is aside from the point that the mainstream press jumping on a case is an almost surefire way of increasing the likelihood of a miscarriage of justice.

cjh wrote:

tommydski wrote:2. They decided in their grief it would be help to meet the Pope?

Her parents have said they're prepared to do more or less anything to keep the case in the public eye and have recently even taken on a paid advisor to help with the media campaign. It's easy to be cynical about this and regardless of what you think of the coverage their logic is understandable given their situation - so far the abduction has only generated attention in the UK/Eire and Portugal and by going to the Vatican it raises the profile across the European mainland where they're probably correct in assuming she's very likely to be held captive.

That's a damn good point. I would like my previous comments stricken from the record.