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Even non-local stories of murdered or missing white children get a lot of coverage on our local news yet I can't think of a single time I've heard of a non-local black child who's missing or killed. Do black children not go missing? Every so often our national media gets swept up in constant coverage of the murder or disappearance of a child somewhere in the country - Elisabeth Smart, Natalie Holloway, Haleigh Cummings, Polly Klaas, etc. When was the last time national media were camping out in front of the home of a black family with a missing child and reported on it like they did with Natalie Holloway or Elisabeth Smart? Has it ever happened?
I have to conclude that black children aren't worth as much as white kids to the general public. Why is this?
The only time I've heard of a non-local black child that was missing was during the time that Elisabeth Smart was missing. A black mother brought her case to the media -- her daughter was the same age as Elisabeth and was missing, but why no coverage? The media covered "the lack of coverage" for a day, and that was all. Never heard if that child was ever found, and the media did not change their "programming."
It's sad. I don't know what it is about a story that makes it compelling enough to warrant constant coverage. But I'd still like to know what happened to the little boy who was dropped off at his school's science fair and disappeared -- was it in Washington? Oregon?
I can't tell you how many times I've heard of Natalie Holloway and the case in Florida,Casey Anthony.
The Natalie case really irked me though. She wasn't a child.
Hispanic children don't get much media coverage either.
I think it has more to do with appearance and class rather than race.
Any child that isn't perceived as beautiful,white,female, and upper class isn't covered.
Boys almost never ever get coverage. Can't remember the last time I've seen a boy of any RACE get media coverage.
I've also never ever saw a disabled child that was murdered get coverage.
I live in the same metro area Natalie Holloway did and her family still does. If you think he kidnapping got alot of attention nationwide, just think how the local media reacted to this story. Around the same time, a middle age black women also became missing, and her case is still unsolved. The media did attempt to give equal time to both stories, but the coverage of her being missing became less and less, as the Holloway story get more airtime.
In a society where looks matters, missing attractive people get more coverage, than the average or below average look people, no matter the race.
Why black children are valued less than white children, well because black people in general are seen to have less worth than their white counterparts. This country never changed, it just got smarter at hiding its dirty little secrets.
Black babies are less valued before they are born, too. Among white women, there are 138 abortions for every 1,000 live births, while among black women there are 501 abortions for every 1,000 live births.
Oh great, the abortion subject has permeated its way into this debate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellwood
I'm not sure that I agree of black vs white getting less coverage. IMO the white, pretty, cheerleading, blonde, anglo-saxon gets more coverage than a white, chubby, glasses wearing little girl. Same as popularity in school. Plus the squeaky wheel gets the grease, i.e. contacting the media. Just my opinion.
I believe this is the most important element. Trayvon's case would've been nothing more than a local news story if it never blew up on social media (mostly from outraged black folks) and therefore demanded national attention. Same goes with the girl in Canada who committed suicide after being gangraped and taunted...if her mother hadn't gone public, the case would be collecting dust under some detective's coffee cup.
Many years ago a black man (the late Rodney King) was beaten by police. It would have probably gone unnoticed except a man playing around with his new camera caught it on video. White on black violence, or black on white, is rare so it gets attention.
There are certain people who shop local news stories, literally deciding what gets picked up nationally. Social media and the internet in general does affect this now, but not as much as you might think.
I can't deny that stories of little white girls get more of this kind of coverage than boys in general or kids of other races. Looking at it in context, you have the fact that TV stations need ratings (journalism is NOT EXEMPT,) there is a huge amount of black on black crime in general, and some parents agitate for attention much more than other parents.
Maybe those things can be lumped together as "society valuing black children less," but I don't think that anything gets accomplished by making proclamations. I would rather identify and attack the measurable factors.
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