Update: The F*** the McCanns Scandal

UPDATE:

Freitag, 3. Juni 2011
Little victories
Please visit original sites:
Unterdenteppichgekehrt Blog
BBC - ECU Ruling: East Midlands Today, BBC1 (East Midlands), 12 January 2011

"Last year I complained to the BBC about the appalling distortion of Goncalo Amarals words in front of the Lisbon court claiming he had said "Fuck the McCanns" while he clearly said in Portuguese "Ask the McCanns". This is an excerpt of my complaint:

Although Mr. Amaral refuted the allegations, saying he replied
to your reporter: "Falar com os McCann" which means talk to the McCanns,
you insisted without apology on your beeped interpretation by a reporter who
clearly has not got a word of portuguese. Mr. Amaral does not speak
english and you clearly biased your report (and what a coincidence that
it should have been EAST MIDLANDS) in favour of the McCanns.
At least you should publish the un-beeped version to proof your point.

This was the response I got at that time:

Dear M* ******* Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'East Midlands Today'.

On Tuesday 12 January 2010, BBC 'East Midlands Today' reported former Portuguese
police detective Gonçalo Amaral's comment in response to correspondent Mike
O'Sullivan's question: "Is your book hurting the McCanns".

We believe that we accurately reported his response but having been made aware
of claims that a mistranslation occurred, 'East Midlands Today' asked Mr Amaral
personally to clarify his comment thus covering all sides of this issue and
affording Mr Amaral a full right of reply.

On the programme on Thursday 14 January, correspondent Mike Sullivan in Lisbon
explained that Mr Amaral's lawyer was reportedly denying the four-letter
outburst. To attempt to fully clarify matters, Mr Amaral himself was also asked
directly about the matter and claimed that he had not talked to our reporter,
that he had said "nothing", and also claimed not to know what was being talked
about.

Essentially this is a judgement call rather than an exact science but 'East
Midlands Today' does appreciate the feedback. As we've been made aware that a
complaint surrounding this matter has been lodged with regulator Ofcom, we are
unable to provide any further comment but thank you for your own personal views
on the matter which have been formally noted and logged by the BBC.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

Regards

Michelle Wiggins
BBC Complaints
____________________________
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

Only today have I got notice about the final ECU Ruling from 30th May:

ECU Ruling: East Midlands Today, BBC1 (East Midlands), 12 January 2011
Publication date: 30 May 2011

Complaint
The programme included a brief exchange between a reporter and Gonçalo Amaral (a former policeman who had worked on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and had since written a book on the case). One word in the exchange was bleeped, and the report gave the impression that this was because Sr Amaral had used offensive language about the MrCanns. A viewer complained that this was inaccurate and unfair to Sr Amaral.

Outcome
The reporter's belief, reinforced by others on the programme team who viewed the recording, was that Sr Amaral had indeed used an English phrase which included an offensive term applied to the McCanns. On further examination, however, it became clear that Sr Amaral had been speaking Portuguese, and that an inoffensive phrase had been misconstrued. Upheld

Further action
The Editor of the programme has discussed the outcome with the producer and reporter involved. In future, the team plans to use interpreters if clips from interviews are unclear.

Little victories like these are soulsoothers."

*END QUOTE FROM Unterdenteppichgekehrt blog*

*****************************************

The "further action" planned is not adequate.

There must be a public acknowledgment and apologies for the disgraceful attempt to sway the British public in regard to Dr. Goncalo Amaral.

Nothing less will suffice. The use of "interpreters" in the future does not in any manner address the primary concern - that Goncalo Amaral has been wrongly accused by the British Broadcasting Corporation of using profanity in response to a reporter's question, and that other news organisations referred to the matter as fact.

*****************************************

My (Winnower) original post follows:

*****************************************

The F*** the McCanns Scandal

Presented here are the articles published by the British press related to this "scandal". In each of the articles, I have attempted to highlight the negative comments about Dr. Goncalo Amaral in red and the positive comments about the McCanns in green. I urge you to review the articles carefully and watch for the abundant emotive language and spin.

The "F*** the McCanns" Scandal ranks high as evidence that certain British "journalists" have intentionally attacked Dr. Amaral. This episode supports the thesis that these reporters are in league with those attempting to silence all debate about the McCanns.

Just as the Carvi Seafood Restaurant Scandal can be analysed and seen as built upon a very flimsy (if not entirely fabricated) foundation, the "F*** the McCanns" Scandal can be similarly analysed and seen to be another false flag, used as propaganda to support the McCanns and attempt to destroy Dr. Amaral's reputation.

As a non-English speaker and a dignified man, the likelihood of Amaral's use of a vile expletive in ENGLISH to reply to a reporter's question is nil. Portuguese journalists suggested that he said "I'm not talking about the McCanns" in Portuguese. The BBC stood by its claim and to date has issued no apology to Dr. Amaral, nor have they responded to the many letters sent to them regarding the alleged "mistranslation".

Given the high stakes involved (the question was asked in front of the courthouse where the libel trial was being heard) it is even more unlikely that this non-English speaking professional, facing the McCanns at trial would have cursed them in this manner.

Examples abound and clearly attempts were made by the reporters to slant the articles to vilify Amaral and sanctify the McCanns rather than simply providing unbiased information.

Techniques include the use of highly emotive language and the lack of background information given the Portuguese speaking at trial, including Criminologist Francisco Moita Flores. (His credentials boiled down to the claim that he is Amaral's "friend"-by implication he is "not to be trusted".)

After reviewing the articles below and if you are interested; here is a Wikipedia entry regarding Flores.

Anyone seeking TRUTH can easily use a search engine to find out more about Flores career and credentials, apparently something British reporters couldn't be bothered to do...

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Moita_Flores (Google translation to English)

Kudos to the Daily Star for daring to challenge the BBC.

14 January 2010