McAfee in Belize: Major media houses arrive on Ambergris Caye
As the John McAfee story continues to make headlines, major media outlets have been spotted on the island of Ambergris Caye in Belize.
CNN International Correspondent Martin Savidge arrived in San Pedro yesterday afternoon and met with the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Manuel Heredia, Jr., and San Pedro's Mayor, Daniel Guerrero.
View slideshow: CNN on Ambergris Caye, Belize
Savidge, working in conjunction with Belize Channel 5, set up the November 14 interviews to learn more about the murder of local resident Greg Faull, and the potential involvement of John McAfee.
This Examiner, along with Dorian Nunez, owner and editor of the local Ambergris Today newspaper, were on hand for the interviews with CNN yesterday evening.
Mayor Guerrero confirmed to Ambergris Today that McAfee is not an official suspect in the murder of Greg Faull at this time. "At this point I just update them with the official police reports and that is that Mr. McAfee is only wanted for questioning in the murder case at this point and that he is eluding the law right now; he is in hiding."
As the media coverage has been less than positive about the country of Belize itself, Mayor Guerrero has extended invitations to all media personnel to take tours of the island and the rest of the country. He wants the media to see that Belize is not a crime-ridden warzone that some news outlets have portrayed it as.
"I am doing my best to explain to the media about the strange murder case that now involves a high profile individual, but I am also doing my best in showing them what a beautiful country we live in," stated Mayor Guerrero. "I have also met with the family of Mr. Faull who has arrived to the island and assisting them in any way possible to ease their grieving. We are all hoping that justice will be served in the death Mr. Faull."
Ambergris Today and I spoke with Savidge briefly about the fact that the crime itself and the victim, Greg Faull, have been lost in the media frenzy as most story angles have focused solely on McAfee and his bizarre run from the law.
Savidge spoke with several local residents and interviewed American expat Joe Chung about the media's overall reporting angle and how little Faull has been mentioned.
"I believe the victim's family deserves more respect. I believe the victim deserves more respect, and I believe us, as residents of Belize, deserve more respect than what the media is portraying," Chung said. "Let's not forget that someone died here."
Source
US Networks converge on Ambergris Caye
Martin Savidge
John McAfee was a technological pioneer not only for his brand of antivirus, but also because one of his companies, Tribal Voice, designed one of the first instant messaging programs. Since McAfee's disappearance has caught the attention of the international media, Ambergris Caye has been visited by journalists from CNN, the Associated Press, Thomson Reuters, ABC, and NBC. CNN has sent to Belize, correspondent and anchor, Martin Savidge who has accumulated nine Emmy awards, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, and six Associated Press Awards amongst other awards. Savidge has made several live reports from the sands of San Pedro about the incident. News Five has teamed up with Savidge and his photographer Martin Calloway. Earlier today, News Five Jose Sanchez spoke to them both on the significance of the media coverage of McAfee and the impressions about Belize that have been broadcast to the millions of worldwide viewers during the search.
Martin Savidge, CNN Correspondent
"First of all it's an absolutely gorgeous place and there's a lot of natural beauty to it. Even when we are up at three o'clock in the morning and doing all of our multiple live shots that we had to do. To watch the sun come up over the ocean and just see the beauty of your country is magnificent. Beyond that people everybody from when we first arrived at the airport to even now have been nothing but welcoming. The law enforcement officials may not have been the most forthcoming, but that's their nature; that's part of their professions. There is no obligation that they have to tell us everything and I think the officials have been good to us. I think working with you as a fellow journalists; working with the likes of Channel Five and all the help that your station has provided has been a tremendous asset for us. It's been a great cooperative effort and I think that we still have a fascinating story to be told and it remains to see how this is going to play out."
Michael Calloway
Michael Calloway, CNN Photographer
"Very simply way of living around here as opposed to being back home where there is a lot of hustle and bustle and everybody's trying to make the big money and drive the latest and greatest. Here is just very simply; people walk on the beach to work or ride a bicycle to school-very simple. So sometimes that is a very important part of life; just be simple."
Channel 5
AmbergrisCaye.com 
