MI MI - Tanner Lucas, Alexander William, & Andrew Ryan Skelton, Morenci, 26 Nov 2010 #6

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We ought to be careful to judge anyone in this case.

I work in news media and can tell you the picture painted rarely equals the person. I'm not wanting to defend anything done in this case, but people are multi dimensional wheras their portrayal on TV has to fit in 30 seconds.

Making assumptions about a person can also cause you to overlook things ...

Just my 2 cents
 
blazelet said:
We ought to be careful to judge anyone in this case.

I work in news media and can tell you the picture painted rarely equals the person. I'm not wanting to defend anything done in this case, but people are multi dimensional wheras their portrayal on TV has to fit in 30 seconds.

Making assumptions about a person can also cause you to overlook things ...

Just my 2 cents
Click to expand...

You are right. What do you see that could be misunderstood, misportrayed, or manipulated by the media here? You have the experience to to tell us.
 
Brief segment with Tanya Skelton and Channel 4's Paula Tutman. To be continued on the 11:00 (EST) newscast. It's an emotional interview as the boys' mother responds to allegations of abuse of her children by her estranged/jailed husband, John. Tanya also displays her photography with large pictures of the Skelton boys.
 
I am very glad that she has been speaking out now. I was amazed by the people who were really very supportive of her to begin with. Yet, she still did not come out and speak for fear of being judged. I can understand her concerns and she was likely worried it would slow down the search. But I really think she needs to eliminate the suspicion from herself in this situation and be out there like any other mother of a missing child.

She really is VERY lucky to have as much community support as she has through the searches. I remember vividly hearing the guy defending her while I was putting ornaments on my tree. I don't remember what show it was on but I remember him saying that they were speaking FOR her and they were searching FOR her... in her place. Now it's time for her to do it herself... and I'm glad to see she is.

Hopefully she does not have to wait years like other parents... to find out what her estranged husband did with their children.
 
You are right. What do you see that could be misunderstood, misportrayed, or manipulated by the media here? You have the experience to to tell us.
Click to expand...

I don't know what specific details are being manipulated, as I'm not in the 'inner circle' ... however I can speak more generally to how I see it go year after year.

This probably won't be surprising to anyone but the purpose of news is ratings, not information. For there to be ratings there has to be something that will engage the viewer and keep them watching. As viewers, what engages us is not well thought out discussion and factual information as much as controversy and grisly details - the things that boil our blood and get our heart thumping.

An example - a few years ago I was sent a mug shot to include in an animation of a local fire chief who was killed in a traffic accident. I looked the guy up and saw that he was a true hero, leading one of the first non New York fire crews to ground zero on 9/11 to help in rescue and recovery, recieving medals for all the lives he'd saved as an Indiana firefighter while putting himself in harms way ... the kind of guy you want to honor. The story was 30 seconds on exactly how he was killed, and didn't mention any of the above things.

The vast majority of news stories are given this treatment, including the stories about the Skeltons. It makes it tought to try and put together good information because seemingly inane details are often left out in favor of who is a sex offender and who tried to kill himself and what these things could mean. To this day it's still referred to as JS's suicide attempt, when now I'm reading relatives and family members saying he had no trauma to his neck. As a reporter would this not be key information? The police keep saying they don't anticipate a positive outcome, they reiterate that point over and over again. I asked on here why they keep saying that and nobody seemed to know. These seem to be key questions.

So TS will be highlighted as a sex offender, JS will have his sordid past dug up and assumptions made that he did the worst, the FBI and Police will be blamed for not doing anything, the families will be labeled as apathetic ... so you asked what's being manipulated? I think the story is being manipulated to evoke an emotional response from us, and not for good reasons. If the point is to discern facts and put together possible alternatives to the standard narrative being portrayed in the news, we ought to avoid anything but the facts ... all the news wants to do is make you sad or make you scared so you keep watching, hoping for a better outcome than the one they've made you afraid of.

Sorry if this is too off topic


... that being said if anyone is aware of jobs for an animator outside of news media I'd be happy to hear about them :)
 
blazelet said:
This probably won't be surprising to anyone but the purpose of news is ratings, not information. For there to be ratings there has to be something that will engage the viewer and keep them watching. As viewers, what engages us is not well thought out discussion and factual information as much as controversy and grisly details - the things that boil our blood and get our heart thumping.

I think the story is being manipulated to evoke an emotional response from us, and not for good reasons. If the point is to discern facts and put together possible alternatives to the standard narrative being portrayed in the news, we ought to avoid anything but the facts ... all the news wants to do is make you sad or make you scared so you keep watching, hoping for a better outcome than the one they've made you afraid of.
Click to expand...

RSBM for space considerations:

Welcome to WS Blazelet. News is news is the way I look at it. Usually by the time information has hit main stream media the folks who have been on WS for quite some time have already learned the information, dissected it and analized it in relation to the facts as they are known. Usually when it comes to MSM we are finding that it is not reliable and the information is misreported or at the very least not complete.

The story here is 3 beautiful little boys who went missing while in the care of their father JS. Do I care if JS tried to commit suicide or not = nope. Do I care if TS is listed as a RSO = nope.

It is all about finding and bringing the boys home. My opinion is that there will not be a good outcome but I would be a very happy person if my opinion is wrong.
 
Usually by the time information has hit main stream media the folks who have been on WS for quite some time have already learned the information, dissected it and analized it in relation to the facts as they are known. Usually when it comes to MSM we are finding that it is not reliable and the information is misreported or at the very least not complete.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, that's why I've stopped going to CNN for updates on this story and just check here every night.

Good work :)
 
blazelet said:
I don't know what specific details are being manipulated, as I'm not in the 'inner circle' ... however I can speak more generally to how I see it go year after year.

This probably won't be surprising to anyone but the purpose of news is ratings, not information. For there to be ratings there has to be something that will engage the viewer and keep them watching. As viewers, what engages us is not well thought out discussion and factual information as much as controversy and grisly details - the things that boil our blood and get our heart thumping.

An example - a few years ago I was sent a mug shot to include in an animation of a local fire chief who was killed in a traffic accident. I looked the guy up and saw that he was a true hero, leading one of the first non New York fire crews to ground zero on 9/11 to help in rescue and recovery, recieving medals for all the lives he'd saved as an Indiana firefighter while putting himself in harms way ... the kind of guy you want to honor. The story was 30 seconds on exactly how he was killed, and didn't mention any of the above things.

The vast majority of news stories are given this treatment, including the stories about the Skeltons. It makes it tought to try and put together good information because seemingly inane details are often left out in favor of who is a sex offender and who tried to kill himself and what these things could mean. To this day it's still referred to as JS's suicide attempt, when now I'm reading relatives and family members saying he had no trauma to his neck. As a reporter would this not be key information? The police keep saying they don't anticipate a positive outcome, they reiterate that point over and over again. I asked on here why they keep saying that and nobody seemed to know. These seem to be key questions.

So TS will be highlighted as a sex offender, JS will have his sordid past dug up and assumptions made that he did the worst, the FBI and Police will be blamed for not doing anything, the families will be labeled as apathetic ... so you asked what's being manipulated? I think the story is being manipulated to evoke an emotional response from us, and not for good reasons. If the point is to discern facts and put together possible alternatives to the standard narrative being portrayed in the news, we ought to avoid anything but the facts ... all the news wants to do is make you sad or make you scared so you keep watching, hoping for a better outcome than the one they've made you afraid of.

Sorry if this is too off topic


... that being said if anyone is aware of jobs for an animator outside of news media I'd be happy to hear about them :)
Click to expand...

Everything you say is true. I think the pertinent facts are that the police sat they do not anticipate a positive outcome, the police say JS said he tried to kill himself, the police say JS said he killed the boys, the police say he changed his story to all the different variations we have heard. JS' relatives say JS told them he was worried that TS had abused the boys. So these things we are discussing all have their basis in something tangible.

If you are saying we need to think twice before judging Tanya, you are absolutely right. She is a victim here, not a criminal.

But if you are saying we need to reserve judgment on John--well, he has definitely committed the crime of kidnapping and is causing all kinds of real grief. I don't see how the press could be distorting much of what he has done.

I don't think you are off topic at all. I think that what you caution is what we try to do on this forum. And I am interested in what made you caution us...do you have a feeling about something?
 
blazelet said:
Making assumptions about a person can also cause you to overlook things ...

Just my 2 cents
Click to expand...


Heck I'll give you a nickel for that statement....
I can't believe how much research I have been doing on this. Why? dunno, but the pics of those little guys just tugged hard at my heart.
I have followed the obvious, the reported, and then my own out of the box thinking. I frankly don't really give a hoot about TS past indisretion, nor that most consider JS so 'confused' he don’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his behind.

What matters is those little fellas need found, one way or another.
And no stone should be left unturned in order to do so. At this point I think anything could be helpful...and looking at what isn't being said can be just as helpful as what is.
 
What if he never tried to kill himself. that could be a lie as well...and i was thinkin. prob u guys have thought of it but putting it out there if not. what if he owes money to someone and they threaten his kids so he put them in safe hiding. do u actually know if he abuses drugs and alchol or do we assume. does he gamble? Christmas is comin quick. please bring them home...
 
girly girl said:
What if he never tried to kill himself. that could be a lie as well...and i was thinkin. prob u guys have thought of it but putting it out there if not. what if he owes money to someone and they threaten his kids so he put them in safe hiding. do u actually know if he abuses drugs and alchol or do we assume. does he gamble? Christmas is comin quick. please bring them home...
Click to expand...

Hmmm...don't think JS would put his children in hiding for any other reason than to spite his Soon To Be eX wife. Any mention of drug use is pure speculation and has no basis in Main Stream Media that I have seen.

Agreed it is time these boys were brought home for Christmas.
 
What if he never tried to kill himself. that could be a lie as well...and i was thinkin. prob u guys have thought of it but putting it out there if not.
Click to expand...

Good question. I've been trying to find an answer to this after talking to my wife about this story (she's an RN) and she asked if there was any physical trauma to JS's neck. I hadn't heard any reporting on that and photos of him aren't good indicators.

From WXYZ Action News :

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/latest-on-three-missing-morenci-boys

Action News has learned that police are now doubting that Skelton attempted to commit suicide. Sources say this is because there were no rope burn marks around his neck. However, those sources are also saying that nooses and straps were found inside Skelton's home. Authorities will not officially confirm this information
Click to expand...


From Nancy Grace (arguable not a great source of info but something to get started on) :

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1012/02/ng.01.html

WAIT: Sure. And one thing I just want to go back to, you were just talking about the suicide situation. My sources say he never actually attempted suicide. They never found any bruises on his neck. If he tried to tie a noose around his neck they would have found bruising.
Click to expand...

So ... maybe.
 
blazelet said:
Good question. I've been trying to find an answer to this after talking to my wife about this story (she's an RN) and she asked if there was any physical trauma to JS's neck. I hadn't heard any reporting on that and photos of him aren't good indicators.

From WXYZ Action News :

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/latest-on-three-missing-morenci-boys




From Nancy Grace (arguable not a great source of info but something to get started on) :

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1012/02/ng.01.html



So ... maybe.
Click to expand...

Not meaning this as argumentative, but does it make a difference if he did or didn't try to kill himself? Does it give us any information about what he did with the boys? Do you see a connection between him attempting/not attempting suicide and whether he murdered the kids or kidnapped/gave them to somebody else?

We know he lies because he has told both stories, accdg to police.
 
What I recall from MSM is that he was going to attempt suicide, even climbed up on the banister, but then thought the better of it, and fell as he was climbing down. That's how he hurt his ankle. He did not actually attempt suicide.

This is one of the MSM articles I could find:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=179613

As reported in this article, according to JS's sister,:
"her brother tried to hang himself from a banister leading down into the basement of his Morenci home, but changed his mind. When he tried to get down, he lost his footing and fell to the concrete floor, broke his ankle and lost consciousness"

It doesn't sound like any pressure was put on a noose, at all. If there was even a noose.
 
georgiajean said:
What I recall from MSM is that he was going to attempt suicide, even climbed up on the banister, but then thought the better of it, and fell as he was climbing down. That's how he hurt his ankle. He did not actually attempt suicide.

This is one of the MSM articles I could find:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=179613

As reported in this article, according to JS's sister,:
"her brother tried to hang himself from a banister leading down into the basement of his Morenci home, but changed his mind. When he tried to get down, he lost his footing and fell to the concrete floor, broke his ankle and lost consciousness"

It doesn't sound like any pressure was put on a noose, at all. If there was even a noose.
Click to expand...

that is what i mean... is that a lie. if so then everything he said is a lie...it does matter alittle for the safety of the boys. i am just stating it and to start an arguement but just voicing out ideas.. something has to give. there has to be a loophole of a hint of where they might be..
 
citigirl said:
Not meaning this as argumentative, but does it make a difference if he did or didn't try to kill himself? Does it give us any information about what he did with the boys? Do you see a connection between him attempting/not attempting suicide and whether he murdered the kids or kidnapped/gave them to somebody else?

We know he lies because he has told both stories, accdg to police.
Click to expand...

Well, if it was a real attempt, and he really meant to die, or wanted to die, it probably means he did indeed harm the children...on the other hand, even a false staged attempt could mean that too, and he wanted to appear distraught/out of his mind...

Why attempt suicide if the kids are fine and safe someplace? Or why even fake it?
 
it is so confusing.. if they came and got the kids from the house )which i read somewheres) why try to attempt to kill yourself there. then if they are ok i would think you would stay alive and get a chance to see them again and to hurt TS. i would think if he did hurt the children he would have such a guilt he would indeed kill himself then to rot in jail unless he did hide them and then to appear distraught he would get less time, then to get out and see them again. but then why wouldnt you go with the organization to be with your children or why wouldnt u run and hide indefintely. his motives are the key to where they are...
 
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