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I don't think "while we ignore Oregons other children and their desperate families" is referring to other missing children. I think it has a more general meaning and is referring to families in desperate circumstances such as poverty, or families that are dealing with meth addiction, etc., and the point they are trying to make is that $1 million has been spent searching for one missing child when perhaps that money should be being spent on programs to fix larger societal problems that are putting a larger number of children at risk.
The million dollar figure is how much LE has spent so far, not the media. I think the 'freak-show family' comment was directed at Terri and all the drama surrounding her. So that's ok.
I am not sure it just applied to Terry. The reporter used "family" which imo includes all of Kyron's parents.
IMO
Scamp, I do believe you turned around and saw the reason for the shadows. Thank you is not near enough for this hard look inside myself. <3
I always found the articles that say, "Why doesn't X get as much attention as Y?" to be insulting. Think about it, let's say you're the parents of X. Your child is missing and can barely get local coverage while Y makes national news every night. Then you read an article which basically says that if your family was more successful and made more money, your child would be get as much attention as Y. If you had worked harder, maybe people would care more about your child. That Y is a more attractive kid than your child, that people can relate better to Y's family, and that because of where you live, people expect your child to go missing.
There are children whose names I see mentioned all the time in arguments about the disparity between coverages of cases yet I will never hear those names mentioned in an article just about their case. It's like the media can only bother to mention their names when they know they get a big debate and controversy going. "We'll name drop your child in our article about media attention for missing children but hell no, are we actually going to write an entire article about your child's case."
Here's the full quote:
Weve spent a million dollars and countless reams of media attention on a missing child and his freak-show family while we ignore Oregons other children and their desperate families, because people would rather watch a soap opera about one very sad misfortune than think about systemic problems that have no easy solutions.
This is information copy/pasted from a news article, not my opinion.
A different viewpoint. I'm not insulted when journalists point out the disparity between resources--of all types--allotted to various cases. I think we need more of that type of reporting.
Bottom line, yes, there are inequities in how various cases are handled. And, as a journalist who's used to dealing with criticism about "why are you covering that?" one thing I've learned is--what's being reported is a mirror of our society right then. If people are talking about something in the coffee shops, the beauty parlors, at home, then it follows that the story will be covered.
Rather than just a toss-off opinion, I'd actually like to see the WW get their teeth into the issues of inequality between cases.
I feel no need to incite the public with comments like "freak family." There is something fundamentally wrong with a cruel heartless commentary about a family that is already in pain. The pen is a strong instrument of hurt" when you alone put this sort of opinion out there and say that all media felt the same way. Sorry I don't believe it. Prove it!
Who among us is perfect, has had a perfect marriage, has never done anything that isn't conventional? I've never met a Saint and don't claim to be one myself. Kyron deserved better than what has happened to him. Don't continue to victimize him or those that love him to make a point about your beliefs that the media or reader demand is lacking critical thinking. It is shameful.
Willamette didn't seem to have a problem breaking the news that was a sealed court order did they? They wanted the ratings and the readers. They had the choice to stop reporting on Kyron on any given day. But they continued with the worst of the soap opera drama and interviews of people who inserted themselves into this case.
They have the ability to report on every missing child and give that child a chance to be found. So what is the issue here? Are they saying they failed all of the other missing children? So fix yourselves or go find a news agency where you feel the proper balance of news is covered, but stop directing your poisonous pen toward a family in pain!
This isn't about Kryon at all. It is a cheap shot.......
How exactly is the media spending so much money reporting this case? Isn't that their job? To report the news? You gotta spend money to make money in that business.
I'll tell you what is over reported. Every time Lindsey Lohan or Paris Hilton goes to jail, to rehab, to court. Every time some politician gets in trouble for looking at *advertiser censored* on his computer or having an affair. News like that I can do without.
And yeah... the comment about the "freak family" was a bit too much!! How rude!!
how dare this pompus-arrogant-lowlife-so called journalist!!!:furious::banghead:
First off the media reports on what they want to report on. How are we or the family to blame for them choosing to cover one story and not another?
Second How damn unprofessional for this wanna-be news paper to call the family of a missing child a freak family. That is below scum.
Third if this has become a soap opera it would be the fault of WW who chose to report every time Terri blinks and take the focus off Kyron... Isn't WW the same paper that practically ambushed Terri in the parking deck and wouldn't get out of her face?
I fault the journalist here but I also fault the editor and the whole damn paper for printing this story and allow this type of garbage to circulate when a 8 year old boy is missing and one of their local families is grieving.
The ONLY thing I half way agree with is pointing out the fact that not all missing people get the same coverage. However for those who are covered I am greatly appreciative about.
I hope this paper gets flamed by their customers about this.
Angery just doesn't even come close to explaining how I feel about this.
question for locals:
is this Willamette Week Online an actual newspaper and not just an online blog?
in other words, is the online version the same as the print version?
I noticed they also printed the word '' in the paragraph about Al Gore and well, no legitimate published newspaper I've seen prints the words 'freak-show family' and '' in their stories
just wondering ...
I think there are two fundamental views of journalism. One views MSM as a leader of sorts, picking and choosing which stories to report. The other view is that MSM is essentially a follower of public opinion and they follow up only on stories that get a lot of public response.
I believe the second view is more accurate. I see MSM as being rather akin to fishing for public attention via publishing a variety of stories and then using public response to choose which to follow up on.
I, too, would love to see some MSM outlet do investigative reporting on issues of inequality in the attention that various missing persons receive. But I also know that the truth is, various MSM have reported on such inequalities for years (going back as far as the late 60s, which is when I started reading the newspaper every single day).
And the response from the public? A gigantic yawn. So it becomes yet another unprofitable story... Next!
I wonder what led them to the conclusion "freak show family" as opposed to "evil stepmother." There's a collective judgment, which is curious, IMHO.