[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Do you agree that there is such a thing a “Missing White Girl Syndrome”, which works like this?
[quote]“missing white girl” syndrome, and it continues to be one of the most pernicious expressions of our contemporary media culture. The latest celebrity victim is an adorable little girl named Caylee Anthony, a child who has been missing for months from the care of an unstable mother, who remains in jail. . .
Caylee Anthony is the latest in a long list of celebrity victims, or should I say, victims who become celebrities. You know their names by now: Polly Klaas, JonBenet Ramsey, Elizabeth Smart, Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, Natalee Holloway, and now Caylee Anthony. These victims, who were either kidnapped or murdered or both, have several things in common:
- They are white.
- They are female.
- They are young.
- They are either cute or attractive.
- They are middle class or upper-middle class.
- They are the center of a mystery: either “where is she” or “who killed her.”
- They have advocates who are capable of keeping their names in the news.
- They have a photo or video record of their lives that can be used, over and over again, by television producers.
. . . What about the black children or brown children who are missing or dead? What about the poor children? What about the boys? What about the men of any color?
Beneath the endless cable promotions and unquenchable public curiosity is a dark hole. If you shine a light into that hole you will find three familiar demons: racism, sexism, and a virulent class bias. . .
Here’s how it works. . . First you identify an appropriate victim. Then you alert us time and time again of her and our collective vulnerability. The exposure turns the victim into a celebrity, a household name. You create an irresistible story engine, a question that viewers need to have answered: Is this girl dead or alive? What happened to her? Where is she? Who did this to her? Why isn’t law enforcement more effective in finding the victim or prosecuting the criminal? Finally, to justify continuing coverage, you treat even the tiniest new development in the case as “breaking news” or an “exclusive report.”
. . . . Please try and think of exceptions to this coverage if you can. Perhaps you recall the recent case of murder involving relatives of actress and singer Jennifer Hudson, who lost her mother, brother, and nephew. Jennifer Hudson gained her fame through “American Idol” and her Oscar-winning performance in “Dreamgirls,” and it was her celebrity that drove the news coverage, not the plight of her missing 7-year-old nephew.
Do you remember his name? It was Julian King. If he had been a pretty white girl, it would probably be on the tip of your tongue.[/quote]
poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=154337
Isn’t the above true?
If the kid was white, might we get headlines like this . . .
Instead, all we get is a few local sources saying, “Looking for parents of abandoned kid.”[/quote]
Oh so very true. Educate 'em MT. :bravo:
Edit-Now I can see what you’re pointing to MT. See, I’m so accustomed to blacks/brown kids NOT even getting media attention for going missing, that it didn’t appear to be racist in my book. Just another day in the media.
But, if that kid had been 10 years older and shot someone, it would front page, 10 pm news.