CommsCon 2016: The Hunt for Madeleine McCann

Admin
Administrator

Posts: 72,701

CommsCon 2016: The Hunt for Madeleine McCann Apr 17, 2016 21:45:39 GMT

Quote

Post by Admin on Apr 17, 2016 21:45:39 GMT

In a series of highlights from this year’s CommsCon event, we look at how public relations professional Clarence Mitchell kept the Madeleine McCann story in the news for 8 years in this keynote presentation.

Clarence Mitchell, the man who kept the story of the disappearance of three-year-old British child Madeleine McCann in the media for eight years, opened CommsCon 2016.

The former BBC reporter discusses how he worked with the McCann family, international police forces, British government and international media to keep the story of Madeleine’s disappearance in the news – and what he did to fight defamation, handle daily requests from upward of 300 journalists and manage overwhelming expectation from all angles.

Timeline:
0:00 Introduction by Miranda Ward
4:00 Clarence Mitchell takes the stage
5:15 The case of Madeleine McCann: An exceptional story in a multi-platform environment
10:30 Public perception
11:44 The big picture: international police, international media, official leaks, the parents, friends, the governments
14:00 Information leaks: the deal, the damage
15:00 Blogging – in the wrong hands and with an agenda can do enormous damage
16:00 Question everything, no matter what, as a journalist would
17:00 A ‘pool’ is not just something you swim in: sharing information
19:26 The newsroom and the tidal wave of content
20:55 Lack of relationships between competing media: 200 to 300 media on-site and more in the UK
22:30 Going legal: defeating misinformation, lies and gross defamation
23:20 Keeping the focus on the search not the parents
26:40 Keeping the British press in line
28:00 The media pool: A daily soap opera with few checks or balances
29:00 Journalists pressured to produce stories resulted in false sighting reports
31:00 Calling on the government for help: Operation Grange, the Scotland Yard inquiry
33:00 More than 100 articles deemed “grossly defamatory”; the front page apologies, payouts and trust fund
35:00 Be straight with the media
39:00 Meeting the Pope
40:00 Kate McCann’s role for missing children organisations in Britain
42:00 Media calls for 2017’s 10 year anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance
44:00 The battle for hope: cases of women being held against their will
45:00 Miranda Ward takes stage with Clarence for one-on-one Q&A
49:00 Audience questions
1:02:15 Presentation concludes

Admin
Administrator

Posts: 72,701

CommsCon 2016: The Hunt for Madeleine McCann Apr 20, 2016 23:04:53 GMT

Quote

Post by Admin on Apr 20, 2016 23:04:53 GMT

The detective in charge of the search for Madeleine McCann said today that police still believe the missing girl could be found alive. Madeleine disappeared in Portugal nearly nine years ago, just days before her fourth birthday, and officers have continued to hunt for her ever since.

Today the head of Scotland Yard's homicide squad insisted there is 'always a possibility' that the girl will be discovered safe and well as he justified the ongoing operation.

Operation Grange, which is estimated to have cost £12million so far, was launched in 2011 after the Portuguese police ended their investigation into Madeleine's whereabouts. The girl - who would turn 13 next month - was apparently abducted from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while her parents Kate and Gerry were having dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Last Edit: Apr 20, 2016 23:05:15 GMT by Admin

Admin
Administrator

Posts: 72,701

CommsCon 2016: The Hunt for Madeleine McCann Apr 25, 2016 22:56:19 GMT

Quote

Post by Admin on Apr 25, 2016 22:56:19 GMT

A former Portuguese police inspector is reportedly planning to sue Madeleine McCann’s parents after his own libel conviction for a book on the case was overturned.

Goncalo Amaral won the initial case at Lisbon’s appeals court on Tuesday, prompting a rush to publish his controversial book The Truth of the Lie, which alleges that Kate and Gerry McCann lied in the investigation into their daughter’s disappearance.

His lawyer, Miguel Cruz Rodrigues, told Portuguese media that he is now planning to sue the couple for damages to recoup alleged losses caused by their year-long legal action. Mr Amaral’s plan was also reported by RPT television, with his representatives saying years of financial losses had been caused by the court battle and damage to his reputation.

Admin
Administrator

Posts: 72,701

CommsCon 2016: The Hunt for Madeleine McCann Apr 27, 2016 22:48:28 GMT

Quote

Post by Admin on Apr 27, 2016 22:48:28 GMT

British trolls paid £50,000 to help a Portuguese policeman fight his libel suit against Madeleine McCann's parents, it has emerged. Former police chief Goncalo Amaral had previously been ordered to pay Kate and Gerry McCann £395,000 in damages in April last year after accusing them of lying about their daughter's abduction.

But that libel conviction has been overturned by a court in Portugal after Amaral's appeal was upheld. A GoFundMe page was set up to help pay for the police inspector's appeal - but the page was later taken over by an anti-McCann 'fan club', according to Antonella Lazzeri of the Sun on Sunday. Pro-Amaral supporters boosted the fund to £52,000 before the fund was shut, the newspaper reports.

Last week the parents' Lisbon lawyer Isabel Duarte said she intended to fight the appeal decision at the Supreme Court, but had not yet assembled her legal arguments. Amaral was part of the police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance from a vacation home in Portugal's Algarve region in May 2007, days before her 4th birthday. In 2008 he published his book about the case called 'The Truth of the Lie.'

Last Edit: Apr 27, 2016 22:48:42 GMT by Admin

Admin
Administrator

Posts: 72,701

CommsCon 2016: The Hunt for Madeleine McCann Apr 30, 2016 22:57:26 GMT

Quote

Post by Admin on Apr 30, 2016 22:57:26 GMT

Police are following one remaining line of inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Scotland Yard boss Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has said.

The UK-based investigation into her disappearance could finish in the next few months, he told LBC radio. Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three years old went she missing from her family's Portuguese holiday apartment on 3 May 2007.

Despite a high-profile hunt, no trace of her has ever been found. The remaining line of inquiry is centred around a letter asking for assistance sent from UK investigators to the Portuguese Public Prosecution Service in July 2015. In October last year, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the number of UK officers investigating the case had now dropped from 29 to four, as the majority of work on the case had been completed.

"There is a line of inquiry that remains to be concluded and it's expected that in the coming months that will happen." He said that line of inquiry was agreed to be "worthwhile pursuing" but once that had concluded, the probe, called Operation Grange, would likely end. But he added: "If somebody comes forward and gives us good evidence we will follow it. We always say that a missing child inquiry is never closed."