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Previously the BBC’s Home Affairs Correspondent for 13 years, award-winning former journalist, Jon Silverman, joined the Â鶹´«Ã½AV in 2007 as Professor of Media and Criminal Justice with the School of Culture and Communications – the same year that three-year-old Madeleine went missing.

Having experienced several high profile cases whilst working for the BBC between 1989 and 2002, this event struck a chord with Silverman as he’d worked on a similar case in the 90s, which saw the disappearance of 21 month old toddler, Ben Needham, who vanished on the Greek island of Kos in 1991 and has – to this day – never been found.

Commenting on why the narrative of cases like these continue to appeal to audiences of UK and international media, Silverman said: “These stories resonate very strongly with the public, particularly parents, and go through similar patterns of response – first shock and intense sympathy for the parents; then anger at the kidnapper or abductor; then blame for the parents who are deemed irresponsible for allowing the child to be taken; and, finally, criticism of the perceived incompetence of the police and other authorities. It’s a template which you can overlay onto the McCann case as well.�

German prisoner, 43, identified as new suspect in case of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in Portugal in 2007

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking)

Described by the Telegraph as the ‘most heavily reported missing person case in modern history’, Silverman says that the media’s coverage of this and other similar cases is also academically interesting, partly due to the influence of aesthetics: “Madeleine McCann is a highly photogenic child – blonde and angelic looking – and it has been suggested that if she had been black or Asian, the tabloids would not have shown the same sustained level of interest.�

In 2002, Silverman co-wrote the book, ‘’, prompted by the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne – a white, blonde child wearing a gingham shirt at the time she was taken. The book explores the subsequent ‘naming and shaming’ media campaign against sex offenders launched by the News of the World which experts believe did more harm than good. Similarly, it can be said that highly inaccurate media speculation over the years has not helped the McCann inquiry.

Discussing the significance of the latest evidence on BBC Radio earlier this month, Silverman said: “We can speculate for as long as we likeÌý– and goodness knows over 13 yearsÌýthere have been so many sightings and tip-offs andÌýfalse leadsÌý– but just because thisÌýman is a convicted sex offender and committed burglaries in the Algarve area around the time that sheÌýwas taken, and the fact that he reportedly said something in a bar in Germany in 2017 which suggested he had some intimate knowledge of Madeleine'sÌýdisappearance,Ìýall these things still remain circumstantialÌýuntil proven otherwise.

“This is theÌýfirst time in these 13 long years thatÌýthe focus has been on one specific individualÌýand this man’s criminal profile certainly matches the sort of person whoÌýis thought to have taken Madeleine McCann, so all these circumstantial factsÌýgive added strength to the case.

“ButÌýI should say that we need to be cautiousÌýbecause there isÌýclearly no conclusive forensic scientific orÌýDNA evidence thatÌýplaces Madeleine in either of his twoÌývehicles that we've heard about, otherwise this man – Christian B – would have already beenÌýcharged.

“The difference between the approach taken by Scotland Yard and the German prosecutor is striking. For the German authorities to say that they have evidence that Madeleine is dead whilst also admitting that they do not have a body and may not be able to charge the suspect, is both very curious and unusual, and so has re-awakened media interest in a case which may never be solved.�

When asked why a conclusion is so important for the McCann family, whether or not someone is charged and convicted, Silverman said: “While it'sÌýimpossible for most of us to put ourselves in theÌýposition of Kate and Gerry McCann, the not knowing aspect of this case must beÌýabsolutely appallingÌýand every time the story resurfaces in the mediaÌýit raises hope and then triggers the awful realisationÌýthat their child may be dead,Ìýso there's all sorts of emotional aspects to this.Ìý

“It's not just a journalist’s story,Ìýit’s an extraordinary human tragedy, whatever we discover in the end.â€�

Professor Jon Silverman can be found tweeting via . Further information about journalism and media courses available with the School of Culture and Communications can be viewed here: