Missing White Female Alert

[jdw112]

I think it depeneds on the nature of the crime. Regular crimes are not enough to gain the attention of the masses. Crimes like the one committed against James Byrd are. Additionally, I think a lot of it has to do with issue cycles. If blacks in media are particularly hot at any given time, racially related stories will increase, both negative and positive. Same goes for any other demographic. The early/mid 90's were full of national stories about black tragedies. The widening racial chasm at the time was partly responsible for this, at least in my rudimentary analysis.

[_BP_]

Oh no, who did you kidknap now BP?

I was trying to kidnap Twarga..daymn that military self-defense training!

[_BP_]

I think it depeneds on the nature of the crime. Regular crimes are not enough to gain the attention of the masses. Crimes like the one committed against James Byrd are. Additionally, I think a lot of it has to do with issue cycles. If blacks in media are particularly hot at any given time, racially related stories will increase, both negative and positive. Same goes for any other demographic. The early/mid 90's were full of national stories about black tragedies. The widening racial chasm at the time was partly responsible for this, at least in my rudimentary analysis.

You have a point here Hates.

[A.J.]

ughh yeah, she went for your danger didnt she.  

ouch  

[_BP_]

Interesting story there Twarga.

[aryels]

Part of this has to do with the fact that many of the media decision-makers are white men who somehow relate to these women as being their wives, daughters or sisters.

It is simply the reality that white media executives, based on their view of the world, react differently to the cases of whites than minorities.

Well, yes. It probably does have something to do with representation. Not long ago, I heard a class presentation given by a black girl, who was concerned about the ratio of unemployed blacks versus unemployed whites--until she made the realization of the difference of education levels. Since the ratio of most minorities with post-secondary education is not as high as that of whites, it follows that those with mass media education would include a higher ratio of whites, whose frame of reference includes other whites. Same as the Government, which if anyone is noticing, is becoming more diverse as minorities receive more education.

[dbgirl]

So as a member of the (gasp) media, I'll offer my perspective on this.

I think a lot of this has to do with economics. I am a print journalist, a crime and courts reporter. Victims of crime in poor communities do not get same "respect" as victims of crime in rich communities. 

I know I have heard this in so many words from newspaper editors, who believe their target readers are well-to-do homeowners who only care about things that happen near their manicured lawns.

If readers -- aka advertisers' target audience -- don't care about who gets killed or raped in the "bad" areas, then many decision-makers in the media don't care either.

It's not that reporters necessarily shy away from these stories, but they'll get discouraged when their story ends up on some tiny inside page that no one reads.

[Made4law]

So as a member of the (gasp) media, I'll offer my perspective on this.

I think a lot of this has to do with economics. I am a print journalist, a crime and courts reporter. Victims of crime in poor communities do not get same "respect" as victims of crime in rich communities. 

I know I have heard this in so many words from newspaper editors, who believe their target readers are well-to-do homeowners who only care about things that happen near their manicured lawns.

If readers -- aka advertisers' target audience -- don't care about who gets killed or raped in the "bad" areas, then many decision-makers in the media don't care either.

It's not that reporters necessarily shy away from these stories, but they'll get discouraged when their story ends up on some tiny inside page that no one reads.

This is the perfect example of the Racist Machine in constant motion...These "news" organizations should stop calling themselves that and call themselves "entertainment fish wraps" or something...

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

I see the point this article is trying to make, but I think it overlooks the obvious connection between these women -- their stories are sensational.  A missing pregnant woman and a runaway bride?  C'mon, that sounds like it came from a movie.  There are plenty of other white women who go missing whose stories don't get that kind of attention because they are fairly conventional and unsensational for media purposes.  I think the primary goal of any media is to sell stories, and the weird, unusual and sensational tends to sell better than the ordinary, typical and mundane.  The media execs are first and foremost concerned with making money, and not necessarily with the race of the victim.

[hilljack]

Rodney King?

People who take swings at cops get beat down all the time, why was he all over the news?