
Let me first state my position: I'm NOT in favor of coverage of any of these stories. Missing persons is NOT national news. Let me repeat... missing persons... is not... national... news. They are local stories. Its just another example of corporate news being driven by ratings. People who sit down to watch tv find these stories interesting. Giving your audience what they want, instead of what they need. And the problem is... you can't cover every missing person's story... so if you choose to cover any, you have to pick and choose which ones are "news worthy." You could have a Missing Person's Channel, and still may not be able to cover each and every person declared missing in this country. The problem is... it looks like its more of a Missing White Women's Network, in terms of the stories that the news organizations choose to cover.
If you look at the totality of all missing persons... young attract white women are not the group most likely to go missing. Did you know that men are declared "missing" more than women? I will say that, since the 2005 NBC report, the media has been mildly more conscious of this, and there have been more minority cases, but they seem to come and go quicker, whereas some of these white women stories linger for months. You see none on men, and very few on boys. I guess boys going missing isn't that big a deal. The bread and butter is still young attractive missing white women.

How many people knew that, during the same time period of Chandra Levy's disappearance... there was a young Asian woman who went missing? And in the same area, no less? Why was her name and face not blasted 24/7 over the cable news networks? Was her disappearance any less important? Why was there a decision to push one woman's story, and not the other? This is the... in my opinion... VERY fair criticism that media outlets open themselves up to, when they choose to cover any of these stories.

What we don't see... are the friends and family... who... due to this culture... actively try to "push" their missing loved-one's story into the social conscience. It's a no brainer as to why... just like America's Most Wanted... the more people who are aware of a person's disappearance, the more likely we are to find her... or, catch her assailant. There are many minority families out there, who are nothing short of frustrated, that their numerous attempts to get their stories on the national television networks are ignored. What makes their daughter's story any less sad or compelling?

Its not that the media doesn't care. I dont believe the mainstream news outlets care about any of these people. The news media cares about ratings... and they know that the public-at-large are not concerned with some of these other stories. At best, they're not AS concerned... in terms of how many people tune in to watch a show segment. 'Wow, a hispanic girl went missing... gee, thats too bad... anyway, turn the channel... turn to um... Nancy Grace... so we can find the latest updates on that poor little white girl who disappeared. I'm so fascinated with her story."

I think its about a conceptial prototype of a "damsel in distress." A beautiful, kind-hearted, sweet young lady. Oh... and um... usually white. Such a compelling story. And as one who is familiar with American history... nothing is more compelling to America than a beautiful young white woman in dispair. What has happened to her? Who could do such a thing? Who will save her? Oh, the humanity! I've seen 19th century ads using the safety and security of "our women" used to influence public opinion before. Currently, white America is the majority of this nation at about 68%. Substantially less than 50 years ago, but still a high percentage. Does racial identification with the victim matter? Do blacks and hispanics not tune in when Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway are on tv? I do not know the answer to these questions. What I do know... the media isn't creating the hunger, they're merely feeding it... they watch their numbers based on what is broadcast and they know that the public-at-large tend towards... missing white women in missing persons' stories more than any other group.
BEWARE... if you are an old white woman... or a fat white woman... or an unattractive white woman... your family may be prone to get the "minority treatment" if they're trying to get your picture out to the public.