Questioning media coverage
When the mass media find a compelling story to latch onto, they hold on tight.
That's been evident the past few weeks, as each cable news channel and local station has covered one story almost every single day: the abduction of Elizabeth Smart.
The story of this girl's kidnapping from her Salt Lake City home is so well-known that, by now, everyone across the country who owns a TV probably knows her name and face.
Smart has been missing since June 5, taken from her parents' Utah home in the dead of night. Although police have questioned a few suspects, they really have no good leads.
In fact, nothing truly notable has happened since she was kidnapped.
You may remember a similar flurry of media attention a few months ago for another kidnapping — this time, a San Diego girl.
Danielle Van Dam was missing for more than a month before officials found her body in March. And while people searched, the media covered the story excessively, replaying it over and over on nightly news broadcasts.
But there's one girl that didn't receive such attention, and her disappearance hits a little closer to home.
That girl is Jaquille Scales.
Jaquille was just 2 years old when she disappeared from her Wichita home on Sept. 5, 2001. For a few days, her absence was the lead story on the Wichita news as people formed search parties and police scoured the city.
But there were no new leads, no new information, and the media hype wound down.
A week later, an editorial from the Wichita Eagle made a public plea: "Don't give up in search for Jaquille."
That editorial was published the morning of Sept. 11. And we all know what dominated the media after that.
But still, the question should be asked: Why is Elizabeth Smart's disappearance being covered on nationwide cable while Jaquille Scales' wasn't?
True, each one came with different circumstances — no one knows how Scales left the house, but Elizabeth Smart was forced out by an intruder in her home.
A week after Scales' abduction, the national media's attention was inundated with Sept. 11. Today, there's room on the media plate for the Smart abduction.
But maybe there are other reasons that we don't want to consider — touchier factors.
Elizabeth Smart's family lives in a huge home in upscale Salt Lake City. They're white.
Jaquille Scales' family lives in a less-than-desirable Wichita neighborhood. And they're black.
In the end, you really can't determine why one little girl's heartbreaking abduction dominated national attention, while the other girls' disappearance only captured local media.
One thing we know for sure: never underestimate the fickleness of television news.
— JENNIFER WILSON
