Taking A Stand

So, Bob Costas who is now a fill-in host for "Larry King Live" on CNN decided that he didn't want to host shows which dealt with the BTK Killer and Natalee Holloway. It is being reported that Costas told execs he didn't feel comfortable hosting the program. Wow, finally a journalist who says we should be covering something else. While the sentencing of the BTK Killer is certainly newsworthy given that Dennis Rader terrorized Wichita, Kansas for the better part of three decades, it was the manner of coverage that bothered me. A great deal of time on programs on broadcast and cable networks was devoted towards this one story, when I am certain there were other important stories breaking in other places around the world. Anchors, reporters, and other pundits sat dissecting all of Rader's statements, basically giving this man even more free reign, and allowing him to gain much desired attention. Many therapists and others pointed out that Rader will be trying to gain attention and fame since he has nothing else left in this life. Even with this knowledge they kept talking about him, they kept showing his statements, and kept going back to the horror this man caused for decades.

Then there's the case of Natalee Holloway the 18 year old Florida teen who disappeared while on a graduation trip in Aruba. For close to three months Holloway has been missing and for the entire time the media's gaze has been focused on her story. Every time I see her picture I immediately begin feeling for her family, but I also remember that Natalee Holloway isn't the only young person missing, or the only young woman who was taken away from her family. On Saturday the body of Latoiya Figueroa was found outside of Philadelphia, the father of her unborn child has been charged in the case. Now a lot of us know about Latoiya but just think if the media would have devoted a LARGER fraction of the coverage to Latoiya's story, she may be alive today. And then there are countless other younger people like Mia Carter a young woman missing here in Maryland. She has been missing since June, but I didn't hear her story until I received a forward with her picture, and vital statistics. The sad reality is this, there are tons of men, women, and children who are missing all across this country. The fact is all those people are not Caucasian with blonde hair and blue eyes. The fact is these people are of different races, of different faiths, of different backgrounds, and from cities all across America. I hope that in the future we'll have journalists who care enough to tell their stories, and who are brave enough to demand parody in coverage.

Those are my thoughts as of now. -CNEL$