THE MEDIA AT WORK

By Jason Moore THE disappearance of Madeleine McCann has resulted in a major media circus. But what has amazed me is that the British media has hit out at the Portuguese police for not being “media-friendly” in other-words giving reporters a step-by-step account of their investigations. The Portuguese police are a bit like their Spanish counterparts, they only inform the media of major developments and believe that their investigations should not be hampered by journalists. In the case of the Spanish police, they will call a press conference when they have something to say. The judiciary will not make any comment and more often than not a complete media black-out would be declared by the Spanish judge leading the investigation. For journalists it is fantastic if the police are forthcoming with information on a daily basis like they are in Britain. Obviously, the Spanish and Portuguese police think differently. Are the Portuguese police right to keep the media in the dark? Well, obviously they believe that there is a possibility that having the media studying their every move could be a nightmare. However, I think the British media need to remember that “different countries, different cultures” and because the British police lead an investigation in this way, it doesn't mean that it should be copied by everyone else.