SOS Madeleine McCann: helping parents of missing children becomes a matter of money.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

14/07/08

Clarence Mitchell, l’ancien directeur de l’unité de surveillance des médias du cabinet du premier ministre britannique (Tony Blair et plus tard Gordon Brown), devenu responsable de l’image et de la communication des McCann, serait en pourparlers avec une agence de Relations publiques où, selon The Telegraph, il projette d’aider d’autres parents qui ont perdu leurs enfants.

L’information serait toutefois à prendre au conditionnel, car une source au sein du Foreign Office continue à affirmer que l’ancien poste de Clarence Mitchell lui reviendrait naturellement à la fin de l’affaire McCann.

Clarence Mitchell, former director of the Media Monitoring Unit for the Prime Minister's cabinet, (Tony Blair and later Gordon Brown) now PR spokesman for the McCanns, is in talks with a public relations agency where, according to The Telegraph, he plans to help other parents who have lost their children.

The information, however, is to be taken as conditional, because a source at the Foreign Office continues to affirm that Clarence's former post will naturally go back to him when the McCann case ends.

“Je dois cependant souligner que pour moi il n'est aucunement question d’abandonner Kate et Gerry McCann,” affirme Clarence

Récemment, Clarence Mitchell avait promis aux parents d’Amy Fitzpatrick de promouvoir la disparition de la jeune Irlandaise auprès des médias britanniques, notamment sur les écrans des grandes chaines de télévision. Un mois après, l’affaire continue absent des médias à l’exception de quelques informations reprises en Irlande - d’où est originaire Amy – et en Espagne, pays d’où la jeune fille est disparu.

L’ancien journaliste est supposé avoir aidé d’autres parents en dehors du couple McCann sur base du bénévolat, mais aujourd’hui, malgré un important salaire, il recherche d’autres options : “Je suis heureux d'aider n'importe qui à faire face aux médias, mais je dois me placer dans une situation financière ferme,” affirme Clarence Mitchell.

"I must stress, however, that there is no question of abandoning Kate and Gerry McCann," Clarence stated.

Recently, Clarence Mitchell had promised Amy Fitzpatrick's parents that he would promote the disappearance of the young Irish girl using the British media, notably on the screens of the major television channels. One month later, the case continues to be absent from the media, with the exception of a few details given out in Ireland - from where Amy originates - and in Spain, the country from which the young girl disappeared.

The former journalist is supposed to have helped other couples besides the McCann couple on a pro bono basis, but today, in spite of a significant salary, he is looking at other options: "I am happy to help whoever has to face the media, but I have to place myself on a secure financial footing," Clarence Mitchell stated.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

14/07/08

Amy Fitzpatrick: Clarence Mitchell promises media interest.

Clarence Mitchell has promised to take Amy's story to the major UK TV channels. Amy, aged 15, disappeared in the Malaga region of Spain, where she had been living for five years with her mother and her step-father. Now, while I feel that Amy is deserving of media interest, I wonder why Clarence has singled out this case for his expertise and connections with the media. In the UK, there are many young people of Amy's age who go missing every year. Could it be that Amy's case attracted media interest in the first place because she disappeared in Spain? Could it be because Amy's name is already known, unlike those of the many, many others who have since gone missing from home and family?

Why choose Amy rather than one of the anonymous young people, who have attracted no media interest whatsoever? Amy's case is not unusual. What is unusual is the interest which resulted from a media, sensitised to the disappearance of British children on the other side of the channel, following the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

So, Clarence, if you are so keen on being the media spokesperson for missing young people, why not pick a name, any name from the Salvation Army's web site, or the web site of Missing People, or the web site of CROP? I am sure there are many others, who are deserving of your attention.

The following is the SOS Madeleine McCann McCann report:

Amy Fitzpatrick : porte-parole des McCann promet l’intérêt des médias

Clarence Mitchell, le chargé en Communication et Relations Publiques au service de Kate et Gerry McCann, à promis aux parents d’Amy Fitzpatrick d’amener l’histoire de la disparition de la jeune Irlandaise sur les écrans des grandes chaines de télévision britannique : BBC, Sky et GMTV.

Clarence Mitchell, head of Communication and Public Relations for Kate and Gerry McCann, promised Amy Fitpatrick's parents to take the story of the young Irish girl's disappearance onto the screens of some of the major British TV channels: BBC, Sky and GMTV.

"Il fait ceci uniquement parce qu'il veut aider à retrouver Amy. Nous lui sommes très reconnaissants. Nous avons essayé longtemps d'amener les médias britanniques à s’intéresser aux recherches d'Amy," affirme sa mère, actuellement à Dublin en Irlande.

Amy Fitzpatrick est la jeune Irlandaise âgée de 15 ans disparue depuis le premier janvier en Mijas, dans la région de Malaga, en Espagne, où elle vit depuis cinq ans en compagnie de sa mère et de son beau-père. Depuis sa disparition le 1er janvier, la Guardia Civil a effectué de nombreuses recherches dans toute la province avec recours à des chiens pisteurs et hélicoptères.

"He is only doing this because he wants to help find Amy. We are very grateful to him. We have been trying for a long time to get the British media to take an interest in the search for Amy," stated her mother, currently in Dublin, Ireland. (If Clarence is so keen on finding a missing child, why not encourage his clients to return to Portugal and help the PJ by participating in the reconstruction of the events surrounding their daughter's disappearance? One job at a time, Clarrie, might be a good idea!)

Amy Fitzpatrick, is the young Irish girl, aged 15, missing since January first in Mijas, in the Malaga region of Spain, where she had been living for five years with her mother and step-father. Since her disappearance on January 1st, the Guardia Civil has carried out a number of searches in the whole province, using sniffer dogs and helicopters.

Selon Audrey Fitzpatrick, mère d'Amy, et son compagnon, Dave Mahon, la famille est "impatiente" d’alerter les 200.000 expatriés anglais résidants dans la région espagnole à propos de la disparition d’Amy, car ceux-ci emploient principalement les chaînes de télévision et les journaux britanniques.

Clarence Mitchell a fait un voyage aller-retour de quelques heures à Dublin où il a rencontré la famille d’Amy.

"Il s’est offert pour venir nous rencontrer. C'était très bien de le rencontrer. Il nous a offert une véritable aide pour faire rentrer Amy dans les médias britanniques," a reconnu Audrey Fitzpatrick.

According to Audrey Fitzpatrick, Amy's mother, and her partner, Dave Mahon, the family is, "keen," to alert the 200,000 English ex-pat residents in the Spanish region about Amy's disappearance, because they mainly subscribe to British newspapers television channels.

Clarence Michell made a return trip of a few hours to Dublin, where he met Amy's family.

"He offered to come and meet us. It was really good to meet him. He offered us real help in the British media to get Amy back," Audrey Fitzpatrick acknowledged.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

20/06/08

Well, I wonder if Clarence would have hit the media with the story if he had chosen the 15 year-old daughter of Joe Bloggs from Hull, on whom to bestow his beneficence? Unfortunately, Joe Bloggs' daughter would be seen as one of many and perhaps the media and the general public would have wondered what Clarence was up to? Distracting attention from something? The wider agenda, maybe? Who knows?

SOS Madeleine McCann: Clarence Mitchell joins the campaign for Amy Fitzpatrick

Well, I guess Clarence had to do something to restore his credibility, which seems to have been gradually eroded by his spin, spin, spin for the McCanns. Public opinion is not on their side, Clarence, which leaves you where? Needing a more plausible campaign to attach your name to?

Porte-parole des McCann rejoint campagne d’Amy Fitzpatrick

Clarence Mitchell, le chargé en communication de Kate et Gerry McCann, a accepté d’aider la famille d’Amy Fitzpatrick, la jeune irlandaise disparu depuis le premier janvier en Mijas, dans la région de Malaga, en Espagne.

The McCanns' spokesman joins the campaign for Amy Fitzpatrick.

Clarence Mitchell, the communications spokesperson for Kate and Gerry McCann, agreed to help the family of Amy Fitzpatrick, the young Irish girl who disappeared on January 1st in Mijas, in the Malaga region of Spain.

Audrey Fitzpatrick, mère d'Amy, et son compagnon, Dave Mahon, ont maintenu des contacts téléphoniques avec Clarence Mitchell, avec lequel ils s'auront une entrevue en Irlande le 17 juin, coïncidant avec une nouvelle campagne de la famille Fitzpatrick auprès des médias irlandais destinée à relancer les recherches d'Amy, profitant d’une période ou des milliers de touristes britanniques préparent leurs valises pour voyager vers les côtes espagnoles.

Amy's mother Audrey Fitzpatrick, and her partner, Dave Mahon, have maintained telephone contact with Clarence Mitchell, with whom they will have a meeting in Ireland on June 17th, coinciding with a new campaign by the Fitzpatrick family in the Irish media, planned to relaunch the search for Amy, taking advantage of the time when thousands of British tourists are packing their cases to travel to the Spanish coast.

Amy, installé en Espagne depuis cinq ans, était âgé de 15 ans au moment de sa disparition.

Selon le porte-parole de la Guardia Civil, la jeune serait disparue vers les 22 heures entre la zone Calypso et l’urbanisation Riviera del Sol, a Calahonda (Malaga), un endroit connu pour accueillir une importante communauté d’expatriés britanniques.

Amy, who had been living in Spain for five years, was aged 15 when she disappeared.

According to the apokesperson for the Guardia Civil, the young girl would have disappeared around 10pm between the Calypso area and the town area of Riviera del Sol, in Calahonda (Malaga) a place known for its large British ex-pat community.

Selon l’ancien responsable de l’unité de surveillance des médias au Royaume-Uni, "la famille d’Amy est très inquiète avec sa disparition, qui n'a pas la couverture dans les média qui ont d'autres disparitions de mineurs".

Pendant plusieurs semaines, centaines de policiers et militaires accompagnés par des chiens-pisteurs, avec l’aide de la croix rouge et des volontaires, ont recherché la jeune irlandaise sans succès. Même les chiens-pisteurs n’ont réussi à retrouver la moindre trace d’Amy.

According to the former head of media monitoring in the United Kingdom, "Amy's family is very worried by her disappearance, which has not had the same media coverage as other missing children."

For several weeks, hundreds of police and army personnel, accompanied by sniffer dogs, with the help of the Red Cross and volunteers, searched without success for the young Irish girl. Even the sniffer dogs had no success in finding the least trace of Amy.

Egal à lui-même, Clarence Mitchell a déjà accusé les voisins –à majorité des expatriés d'origine britannique– d’arracher les affiches avec la photo d’Amy "chaque fois que ses parents les remettent parce qu'ils sont préoccupés par l'effet que la disparition du mineur pourrait avoir sur le tourisme".

True to form, Clarence Mitchell has already accused the neighbours - the majority of them ex-pat British in origin - of tearing down the posters bearing Amy's photo, "Each time the parents put them back because they are bothered about the effect the disappearance of a minor might have on tourism."

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5/06/08