Task (45 marks)

In depth case study questions: 
News coverage of social class : Madeline McCann and Shannon Matthews




1: Tender and considerate language has largely been used to describe the parent of Madeline McCann. The fact that 'a child psychologist' flew from England to Algarve to help Kate and Gerry in 'telling  their twins' about the incident shows how considerate and changed the couple are after Madeline's abduction. They are doing everything possible in order to make sure that Sean and Amelie are protected both physically (by sleeping with their parents at night) and mentally. The use of such soft hearted language presents Kate and Gerry McCann as positive parents who have been completely changed after the abduction of their daughter , and will not allow any harm to come to their remaining two children. Calling a child psychologist to speak to the twins also suggests that the family are from a wealthy class (upper/middle class) . This is because they can afford to hire a psychologist for the benefit of their children as well as hire 'private' detectives to handle the case.






On the other hand, inconsiderate and dysfunctional language has been used to describe the Matthews family. This seen when the officers examined the 'similarities' between Shannon's abduction and a TV series on channel 4 called 'Shameless'. In the series a teenage daughter of a dysfunctional man sets up a fake kidnap of her son in order to obtain a £500,000 ransom, while Liam , her son is hidden a few doors away. The two incidents are shockingly similar to one another. The assumption that Karen hid her daughter for money presents her as a greedy and heartless mother .Unlike the McCann's she is presented as an avaricious mother , willing to put he daughters life in danger for wealth. The fact that Karren chose to do such a shameless act also hints at her social class. She may have decided to take this step because it could be seen by her as the only way to survive. Karren is not from a wealthy class like the McCann's , she is of a working class and just earns enough to survive. She received benefits which may have not been enough anymore to provide for 7 children. Therefore , her social class may have been the reason behind her inconsiderate actions.






2: A wide shot has been used to capture Kate McCann and Amelie.They take up the full frame in the picture. In the frame Kate is seen holding Amelie's  hand to ensure that she safely gets down the stairs. It looks as if she cannot bear to be parted from her daughter suggesting her changed , caring and protective manner. This picture in particular may have been used by the daily mail because it supports the text , which talks about the couple as caring and cautious parents. It also looks as if Kate and Amelie are getting of a plane , almost a private plane hired especially for the twins safety.This does not only present them as protective parents but also shows their wealthy class.


On the other hand, a close up has been used to focus the facial expressions of Karen and Shannon Matthews. The expressions on Karen's face show guilt. It is as if she is repenting for committing such a heartless act. Shannon's  close up shows her as a happy and beautiful child. This makes us look down upon Karen even more for harassing such a lovely daughter. There is nothing else except the close up in the frame suggesting how Karen , from a working class does not posses anything now except her guilt.




3: Stuart Hall known as the founding father of media studies argues that representation is about the various meanings generated from media. He also believed that class/religion and race are represented in media in terms of how different they are from mainstream white ideas. This leads to news coverage becoming hierarchical.


The class division is clearly seen between the Matthews  and the McCann's in these articles in the daily telegraph. The McCann's are represented as being from an upper/middle class. This is because they have spent 'around £11 million' on the search for Madeline. This is a huge amount which probably most middle class and none of the working class can afford. The McCann's hierarchical statues is further reinforced by mentioning how they have had a child psychologist to speak to the twins  and hired 'private detectives' to handle the case. Readers may decode various meanings from these tiny details. Readers from an upper/middle may feel that a considerable amount has been spent on the case and that it  has been spent wisely. However, the lower/working class will be shocked to see the amount the McCann's have spent on the case and may even see them as a rich spoilt family. Therefore, the news coverage of these factors represents the hierarchical statues of the McCann's.


In contrast to the McCann's, the Matthews are represented as being from a poor /working class. The comparison between Shannon's abduction and the TV series 'Shameless' suggests this. The working class are known to have been highly influenced from TV as they spend a huge amount of time watching It. The fact that Karen is from the working class suggests how she could have possibly been influenced by the show 'Shameless' to fake the kidnap of Shannon. This also represents Karen as the 'other' especially in comparison to the McCann's. Her representation as a greedy and heartless mother , shows that her actions are very different from mainstream or middle/upper class parents. This decoding of her character shows her as powerless in society because due to the news coverage she is seen as mother who staged a fake kidnap of her daughter because she thought it was the only way to survive.


4; Stuart Hall also recognized that audiences read media texts and decode them in different ways. This leads to a piece of text becoming polysemic, having potential meanings. Hall focused on three main strands of views; dominant , negotiated and oppositional.


The dominant meaning of the Daily Telegraph is to show the different sides of parenting of the McCann's and the Matthews in relation to their class. The class division between the two families is clearly emphasised to the readers. Right from the first paragraph we are made aware that the McCann's are from an upper/middle class because they have already spent 'around £11 million' on the case. We are also made aware of the fact that the Matthews are from a poor working class background because they have had to stage a 'fake kidnap' to get some money. From this introduction we are made to think that the McCann's are 'good' parents , who have spent millions on the case of their daughter because they are genuinely worried about her. This is further reinforced in the article as we get to know how the couple cannot bear to be parted from Amelie and Sean. Whereas by mentioning , almost as a fact that Karen had set up a fake kidnap we decode that the Karen is a 'bad' parent. This is emphasised through the similarities' of the case with the TV series also showing the extent of influence of TV in the life of a working class woman. These dominant interpretations are encoded in pretty the whole article.




After reading the Daily Telegraph, I personally decode a negotiated reading in response to the text. I do agree to an extent with the dominant reading of the McCann's as 'good' parents and the Matthews as 'bad'. However, I do not completely see the McCann's as 'good' parents because I believe that they have also acted as inconsiderate and careless parents in a way. They left Madeline , Sean and Amelie sleeping all by themselves in an apartment without the doors even locked. The fact that the daily telegraph fails to mention this piece of information shows their bias towards the McCann's. Karen Matthews may be decoded as a 'bad' parent but in my opinion the McCann's are not exactly examples of 'good' parents.