On the anniversary of Maddy's disappearance, the McCanns are still in the papers and still in search of their little girl.

In Austria, a monster sits behind bars after fathering seven children by, and repeatedly raping, his daughter. He committed myriad other crimes too; crimes which make him more terrifying and sinister than any "bad guy" in movie history. Hannibal Lector and Se7en's John Doe seem positively charming by comparison.

In Maghera, the McGuckins are attempting to come to terms with their vilification in the national press.

Eamon and Antoinette McGuckin are the couple whose children were taken into temporary care on the first night of their holiday in Portugal last weekend.

It was reported that the couple had gotten so smashed at a pub that they only managed to get as far as the hotel lobby before passing-out in front of their kids - aged six, two and one. Reports from "sources" - nameless, faceless people always eager to spread a bit of scandal - said that they vomited in the lobby before falling unconscious as concerned staff phoned paramedics.

Before the McGuckins had a chance to refute these claims, and before any facts could be verified, the story was all over the national and international media.

I scanned a few different news websites to soak up the feelings of the general public and - surprise, surprise - found my favourite, hysterical right-wing bashings on the Daily Mail website.

'Very irresponsible', 'disgraceful' and 'shameful' went the condemnations, before anyone had time to catch breath or analyse the situation.The high and mighty came out in force before all the facts were known: "These two are a total disgrace. God only knows what the people of Portugal must think of the way the British carry on!" shrieked John, from Blackburn, on the Mail's website.

"I would never put MY kids in such a situation," harrumphed another holier-than-thou do-gooder.

In what situation? Would that person never deign to get food poisoning, or have their drink spiked by local chancers seeking easy robbery victims?

Basing opinions on facts that are yet to be verified - which I suppose, technically, aren't "facts" - is bad news.

We can only make decisions based on the information we have in front of us. It is up to us to determine whether the information is flawed and biased, or balanced and accurate.

In the year since Maddy disappeared, people's thoughts on the tragedy have swung in favour of, and against, the McCanns regularly. Often those opinions depend on what newspapers they read.

When the McGuckins finally got the chance to put forward their side of the story on Wednesday, it cleared up a few elements of the evening in question.

They said the amount of alcohol they consumed between the hours of 8pm and 10pm would not have been sufficient to render them incapable of being responsible parents.