Comments on: Media Obsession With Damsels in Distress

By: bryan

bryan — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 23:42:47 +0000

Whatever, counterexamples are not going to do anything unless there's some sort of quantitative analysis of this coverage. And to be honest, there are a number of factors that go into whether the coverage is going to reach to the levels of a Lacey Peterson or this girl in Arruba or the girl who got killed in Utah. Looks is just one of those factors. Good video is another. Age is another. Recall the black girls who were kidnapped and then later found alive. There were live child victims who were recovered while cameras were rolling. That's going to draw lots of coverage. The young white women disappearing plays into demographic reality for news coverage. Suburban moms who send their kids on senior trips will eat up the coverage on this - at least that's what the ratings gurus say. It's the same reason Danica Patrick still warrants stories in the sports pages and on ESPN. Not because they've somehow calculated that she won the Indy 500, but she's still a hot young woman in a racing suit who isn't averse to peeling some of it off for the cameras. And that sells.

By: Freedebate

Freedebate — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 23:37:34 +0000

To "Whatever": Concerning your guy in Mexico, remember the guy that disappeared in Mexico City about 10 days ago...? No? too bad he was't a young, middle/upper-class female or Pres. Fox would already be on the TV. And FBI... they do not seem to be rushing to find the guy in Mexico.

By: denise

denise — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 20:50:52 +0000

Part of it is a natural consequence of Amber Alerts, which I think are generally a good thing. A missing child case gets a lot more atteniton right from the start than it would have 20 years ago, because there is a system in place and a hope that the system will end up helping find the child alive. And it does work sometimes.

The Amber Alert system, AFAIK, does not apply to a case like Lacey Peterson, but the same hope does, and it drives the family and the police to consult the media. It's hard to stop a moving train, so once the media had the Lacey Peterson case, it wasn't going to let go.

I agree that this doesn't explain why the cases of minorities and boys don't get as much attention, just part of the reason that the overall focus on missing persons has increased. And I agree it does create the false impression that these cases are more prevalent than in the past.

By: whatever

whatever — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 20:48:20 +0000

I can think of several counter-examples off the top of my head. Remember the GUY who dissappeared in Mexico a few years back? What about the black kid taken from a bus stop by a woman who told her getting-out-of-prison boyfriend that she had a baby while he in the slammer? One of the other major blogs (Wizbang, Captain's Quarters, one of those) also ran an article giving lots of other counter-examples.

Back up your theses only using examples that support it, then you will always be right.

By: Gay Orbit » Do the Media Concentrate on White Women in Distress?

Gay Orbit » Do the Media Concentrate on White Women in Distress? — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 20:23:26 +0000

[...] n in Distress? I don’t think there’s any question of it. How often do you, as James says, hear about the disappearance of a “poor black kid from Compton"?? You don̵ [...]

By: La Shawn Barber's Corner

La Shawn Barber's Corner — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 19:29:01 +0000

Women Should Embrace The Blogosphere

Blogger Lorie Byrd has written a great article for Townhall.com. Check it out.

And Walter Williams is guest hosting for Rush Limbaugh today. Always a treat.

Update: Controversial stuff! Read "(White) Women We Love." (reg. req.). It's an op-ed ...