THIS WEEK, the Daily Express and Daily Star both published front page apologies to Kate and Gerry McCann. 

They paid a combined £550,000 to the Find Madeleine campaign, and their Sunday stablemates are also expected to go down the same route in a couple of days time. 

The BBC, whilst not directly involved in the newspaper game, pointed out the scarcely-precedented action of both the Star and Express. 

 Apologies, if printed at all, are normally to be found tucked away well inside a newspaper as to minimise the attention drawn to them.  The Express, in particular, has done this with an “Amplifications and Clarifications” box in the past.

Why, on this occasion, was the offence felt to be so heinous that only a splash would do? 

• Unlike most recipients of apologies, the McCanns aren’t politicians.  In fact, they attract a lot more public sympathy (even if this has been questioned at times) than the average MP.   Therefore, the force of the apology had to be stronger. 
• Both papers have avoided a potentially damaging case against them by settling out of court.  A long-running action would have been lapped up by the other dailies, and eroded their credibility with the public.
• The sheer scale.  The Daily Express alone has apologised for over 100 stories published since the disappearance of Madeleine. 

Would should the repercussions be?  Renowned media analyst Roy Greenslade had strong views in his Guardian blog. 

Initially, he called for the resignation of the four editors involved, and when that didn’t happen he changed tack to a boycott of the Star and Express.

The Express – the self-styled “World’s Greatest Newspaper” – is surely facing troubled times.  For the last 10 months, its monotonous Diana coverage has been supplemented by monotonous Madeleine coverage.  It followed every twist and turn, but based much on rumour rather than fact. 

This humiliating climb-down is from a position that should have been left months ago.

The Star is less likely to take a battering, if only because it doesn’t have very far to fall in terms of the seriousness of its news coverage.

Overall, the main repercussion may be for the industry as a whole.  the precedent of the front-page apology has now been set, and is sure to be cited by aggrieved parties in battles against newspapers in years to come.  And many won’t be as deserving as Kate and Gerry McCann.