Tal & Qual

The article that was the subject of the McCann's legal action

Tal & Qual (Tal e Qual, Portuguese pronunciation: [taliˈkwaɫ]; loose translation: Just Like That) is a discontinued weekly Portuguese tabloid newspaper published between 1980 and 2007.

History and profile

Tal & Qual first appeared in July 1980[1] and was published weekly on Fridays. The newspaper was owned by the Projornal media company.[2] Then it became part of the Controlinveste group. It had a populist stance[1] and was a sensationalist weekly.[2] Its last edition came out on 28 September 2007.[1][3] The paper closed because of a drop in circulation, down from over 21,000 in 2004 to 13,000 by the end of 2006.[4]

On 31 August 2007, the parents of Madeleine McCann announced that they were suing the newspaper for libel after the newspaper reported that the "police believe" Kate and Gerry McCann killed Madeleine, suggesting she may have died in an accident or from a drugs overdose. The police stressed that the McCanns were not suspects (at the time: they later became so), but Tal & Qual stood by the story.[5] The journalist who wrote the article, Catarina Vaz Guerreiro, said "I can't reveal my source, but I have complete trust in them. I strongly believe that the person that gave us this information is telling the truth."[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Press in Portugal - Historical Overview". GMCS. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Helena Sousa (1994). "Portuguese Media: New Forms of Concentration" (Conference paper). University of Minho. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Rui Alexandre Novais; Hugo Ferro (2013). "Media Stratups in a Creative Destructive Scenario". II. International Conference on Communication, Media, Technology and Design. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Jornal "Tal & Qual" acaba amanhã". Público. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  5. ↑ "McCanns Sue newspaper for libel". BBC News. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  6. ↑ Greenhill, Sam (31 August 2007). "Top detective in Madeleine inquiry backs 'innocent' McCanns". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 31 August 2007.