A pregnant woman missing for over a week. A two-year-old left home alone. A town mobilized in the search for the woman, feared dead.
Provocative facts come to light: A cop was suspected of killing her. The cop, who is black, has a penchant for white women. The pregnant woman was white, and she was involved with the cop, who’s married to someone else. The murdered woman carried the cop’s baby, and the cop is the father of her two-year-old son. The cop has at least three children by three different women.
The cop has a criminal record, but he was still on the force. One of his baby’s mothers says the cop once stalked her and broke into her home. Cable news networks live on this stuff.
The cop, Bobby Cutts, was arrested for the murder of Jessie Davis and her unborn baby. A woman named Myisha Ferrell was arrested for hindering the investigation. Lots of online chatter about immoral lifestyles, the interracial factor, “unborn fetus” v. “unborn baby,” and on and on.
The only reason I’m blogging about the Jessie Davis-Bobby Cutts case is to contrast it with the story of a woman missing since Memorial Day weekend. Her story isn’t provocative, and it hadn’t gone national until a day or so ago. Stepha Henry was in South Florida, down from New York, and was last seen leaving a club with a group of people. Her family’s on the case, but somebody needs to help them get national attention. Spread the word.
A Miami Herald reporter scheduled to appear on an MSNBC talking head show to talk about the missing Henry got bumped for Paris Hilton coverage. It’s sad, but the misadventures of slutty heiresses sell.
Some say the “white woman in distress” syndrome, or some variation on the theme, is in full effect. They tend to get more media coverage than black women in distress. News outlets can’t cover every single missing woman story; only the titilating tales or man-bites-dog dramas get national press. Ratings, baby. And there’s no point claiming race doesn’t matter. I believe it makes a big difference to talking head show producers. If more white people watch the shows, why not cover what interests them? Then again, class and fame are factors, too. I mean, if Miss Oprah went missing…
Fortunately, America’s Most Wanted covered Stepha Henry’s story.
More on the Davis case and the Henry case at Google News.
Remember the dimwit “bride” who faked her kidnapping and had half the country mobilized looking for her sorry butt? 
Ya know, out of this entire debacle, the only ones I feel sorry for are the little 2 year old boy and the families…
As far as having any sympathy for the 2 adults, I don’t care WHAT color they are, both are nothing more than trash…
Adulterers and trash…
And the little children didn’t ask for any of this…
Comment by TexasFred — 06.25.07 @ 6:05 pm
Great observations. Thanks.
Comment by Lynn — 06.25.07 @ 6:40 pm
Cable news isn’t about information (save for the crumbs in the ticker at the bottom of the screen) it’s about entertainment. But the newspapers–what’s their excuse?
The cop has a criminal record, but he was still on the force.
There’s a slew of elected and appointed officials that have some explaining to do. I think I already know what they’ll say.
Comment by Radish — 06.25.07 @ 7:02 pm
Well, here’s the only good thing about this case -it has not turned into a race “thing”.
I live in the Cleveland area and we probably have been getting more coverage than others.
For some reason we tend to be sympathizing with the victim.
I wonder why?
Comment by Veronica — 06.25.07 @ 7:49 pm
THis story is already getting racial overtones. E.g. Foxnews reports http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286560,00.html“A man who would only describe himself as Cutts’ uncle left the courtroom complaining that the family was shoved into the far corner and furthest from the window.
Moments before the defendants appeared, three reporters were asked to move so that the Davis family could sit in the center of the courtroom.
The uncle said the family members were the only black people in the courtroom. “That’s American justice,” he said. “We are suffering. We’re related to the little baby, too.”
What a shameless person this “uncle” must be, to play the race card under the circumstances!He should be happy to sit in a dark corner so people might not recognize him aferwards. If you ask me, it really would be nice if the long-forgotten concepts of shame and honor were revived. A man who just goes around having children by different women. A woman who has children by someone who is married to another, has a child with her, and another child by a third woman. It’s pure animal behavior. Not a shred of dignity, honor or shame in this. But what is shame? Embarrassment at being judgment by others. Being judgmental has become the gravest sin. THis says it all…
Comment by Irene — 06.25.07 @ 8:17 pm
More California Reamin’ - 9th circuit Court Style…
So, what’s driving the PC Police this time? A concept known as internalized oppression seems to feed most thought censorship agendas. It’s a Freudian psycho-babble concept which has it’s roots in the modern university, and is just one more way that …
Trackback by No Apology — 06.25.07 @ 8:30 pm
The thought police are busy in California, and they don’t care what color you are, as long as you are gay…see trackback
Comment by No Apology — 06.25.07 @ 8:33 pm
LaShawn,
I am not professing to understand this bias. I am sick and tired of this gagging me media, that will not truly report the news. I mean, if the Ohio woman story was reported, then say take a break and not have every 15 minute updates with the locals of Canton Ohio, then I would not be so frustrated.
I wrote about this on my Blog(Ohio Missing Woman Causes Thought). The story isn’t about the black cop or the white girl, the story is really about raising girls to make good choices in men. Of course she was dead from the get go. Of course we all knew that the boyfriend was the killer. I think that the MSM likes to stir up the race situations, by reporting cases like this. If I am not correct, then why not spotlight all missing persons on a runner on the bottom of the screen.
This story is a local story, not national news(tragic, but true). A national news story is the part I mentioned. The responsibility of raising our girls to respect themselves enough not to hook up with someone who only values them as an object. The story is across the races, and truly one that would change many situations. As to the media changing, it will not happen, because then the Left and the Right may actually begin to focus on real issues. With the constant race awareness, quotas(of course not called that) and entitlements because one is this or that, we never accomplish anything. Even with the military, the inner city kids were forced into it, Condi isn’t really honoring her blackness, and Colin Powell, well enough is enough.I am done with the race bs.
I have given up on mainstream media and have several blogs that I read to give me information(including yours). I am not going to be blindly told what is and isn’t important, such as Anna Nicole, Paris and any other *Hollowood* starlet is in jail, or whatever.
I also home school my kids to stop this ridiculous trust in the MSM. My children are a mixed set as my husband is Mexican(born here legal citizen:), and I am white. We have seen both sides treat the other poorly because of either of our races. It is not isolated, just a situation that we educate the children how to move past and become stronger.
Forgive me for running on, I love your blog and truly leave thinking! A+ LaShawn
Comment by jennifer — 06.25.07 @ 8:40 pm
Please…Oprah….Go on - GO MISSING!
Comment by Sharon — 06.25.07 @ 9:31 pm
When I saw the coverage I was relieved to see that the media was actually covering it. I expected the story to get the Wichita Massacre/Christian Newsome treatment. And yes white women go missing and get more coverage. These events happened aroundthe same time so unfortunately Stepha Henry isn’t going to get as much coverage. I do have to say it has gotten better. I saw Nancy Grace do a few days on a young black girl so it is not as one sided as it used to be.
Comment by Rodney — 06.25.07 @ 9:40 pm
Thank you for reporting on Stepha–finally someone in the media seems to care. The sad, ironic thing about this situation is she has/had done everything right by all accounts–college graduate, heading to law school, bright future ahead. Yet few in the MSM seem to care that she went missing. On the other hand, everyone runs towards the story of a missing white single mother with TWO children by a MARRIED man. I’m sorry she’s dead, but why does everyone call him her “boyfriend?” She was his MISTRESS–Cutts is a married man!! Why is Stepha’s life not as important as someone’s mistress????
Comment by Dallaschic — 06.25.07 @ 10:21 pm
There will likely be a pack of true believers in the Cult of Victimhood who will have eye-popping, vein bulging outrage at what I say about the Victim, Jesse Davis…but here goes:
Choices have consequences. They increase risk of deadly consequence.
Many people are made criminal victims and while they can’t be blamed for the particular crime, they can be criticized for making their tragic fate far more likely through a series of bad decisions or misjudgments they make.
And we as a society are far too silent in pointing out the folly of Chandra Levy jogging alone at dusk in a dangerous DC park, two girls in religious bliss over Jesus handing out proselytizing religious material in front of the Taliban despite a death penalty for doing so, Nick Berg walking obliviously alone, without protection - around Iraq’s hostile areas telling people he was Jewish-American businessman selling cell phone towers.
As TV people yammer on about “senseless tragedy”, the “need to heal”, and constant expressions of adulation for “how STRONG and Wonderful this Victim family IS!!”
Reflect on choices.
Jesse Davis was a fairly attractive woman who held a job.
Instead of seeking marriage, she goes to a married cop for her jollies.
Her “deeply Christian family” was supportive of this.
Despite the cop, Bobby Cutts, being known to cast a wide eye, siring other kids outside his marriage, having heavy financial child support burdens inside and outside his marriage, a partying lifestyle, and having a record of violence - there appears to have been little caution.
And with her breaking off the relationship, hammering him for 16 and 18 years more child support and getting into what acquaintances said were confrontations about it - little sense of danger despite Davis threatening to send the Lothario, his wife, his two other GFs and three kids into penury if he had to pay for Davis.
And no moral kudos to “The Poor Cutts family” for “coping with this tragedy” because the wife appears to have known Patrolman Cutts was playing around and having kids outside her relationship, but was not morally concerned about it.
Race enters it because even if she hadn’t been eliminated as a burden and destroyer of Cutts and his latest girlfriend’s partying lifestyle, having two black kids out of wedlock DOES impact her future marriage prospects. A white man may regard white children from a past marriage or illegitimately as not being much of a discouragement. The right guy knows that much of the past can be buried, kids can be adopted and claimed as his own if he cares to, or just left status quo with most people seeing them assuming he and his potential bride Jesse have kids….But her having two older black kids created out of wedlock with a serial impregnator means she comes with baggage - a family secret of past slutty behavior visible to all to see.
Race also matters in that a dirty little “unspoken” - is many black women absolutely despise other race women who “take bruthas” away from “sistahs” - money-grubbing white, Asian, latina sluts at that. They blame not the man, but the other-race women for beguiling the black man, getting the money, leading him astray.
It was a big reason why black women on the OJ jury led the charge to acquit. Nicole Simpson had ruined him, messed with his head. And thinking Kobe was a fool for marrying a Latina who couldn’t keep him in control and needed big chunks of jewelry to keep her quiet, and seduced by some white trash groupie who set him up..Why in Illinois a black girlfriend of a black thug a white divorce housewife had gotten pregnant off in a “bad boy” attraction demanded he, she, and a couple of friends go over, kill her, a young white son, and carve the thug’s baby out of her uterus with a knife and keep it - which they all proceeded to do in one of the worse crime cases of the 90s.
*******************
As for the media, they love missing pregnant women stories, better if it is an attractive white girl, even better if they come with a telegenic, media-whorish Beth Holloway Twitty family member type they can rhapsodize endlessly on how “Strong” she is while the camera lingers on the family eye candy. It is all cynical business driven by marketeers that know to a 10th of a ratings point what each “celebrity victim is worth”.
I used to think it was guilt because a pregnant woman to the media liberals is just a person with tissues of conception to get rid of if “it is her Choice” - yet human nature is to be unusually protective of gravid females of “our tribe”. So media leaves the hypocrisy of saying a fetus is worthless or precious depending on condition aside. and focuses on ratings gold.
Ratings gold that a black inner city female pregnant with a missing bastard baby never will be - nor a missing pregnant white meth freak with all her teeth missing or Jose, the missing illegal alien last seen in the back of a truck with 8 others heading to Miami..
Comment by Chris Ford — 06.25.07 @ 10:56 pm
I do have to disagree on this point. I have seen lots of coverage about the missing black woman from the Miami club she was last seen in. The news orgs had her parents on with her picture, and talked about the club she was in and a possible car she might have been seen in. They had her family on Greta a few times in a row and her parents thanked Greta profusely for the coverage.
I only remember this because I was making a point to notice that the news orgs actually had a non white missing woman on the screen. This was way before yesterday and today.
It may not be as juicy as the cop/interracial/whatever debacle, but it was on.. and I did watch.. and I do remember.
Comment by Jackie — 06.26.07 @ 12:27 am
La Shawn, I think that you had a previous post about the issue of the coverage “white women in distress” get compared to black women in similar situations.
I do not recall what I posted on that thread back then, but here is what I think now: The media (meaning Hollywood and advertising as well as “journalism”) view white women as more physically attractive than black women. Thus, the difference in coverage between the two women.
I have noticed that when you look at magazine advertisements, the vast majority of women depicted in them are white. The relatively few black women depicted in them tend to have what are often called “Caucasian features†(narrow lips, small noses, light-colored skin, straight or wavy hair). I see very few models that look like Stepha Henry or my wife (a gorgeous African woman). The same seems to be true of TV advertising.
Groupthink is the hallmark of modern media – the media elites’ opinions on politics, religion, race and a host of other issues are remarkable only for their lack of diversity. Why should something like “standards of feminine beauty†be exempt from their smothering one-size-darn-well-better-fit-all view? I find it impossible to believe that this predilection for certain types of women among the media elites does not influence “news” coverage, since the distinction between “journalism” and entertainment seems non-existent these days. Usually they are one and the same.
Comment by Mwalimu Daudi — 06.26.07 @ 12:36 am
This has nothing to do with race. This is a case of domestic violence, some people want it to be more. That tells us a large amount about the character of some of those people who want to make this about race. There is no difference between Bobby Cutts and Scott Petersen and the sad but long list of men who have killed the women they were involved with wife or otherwise.
Comment by Uncle Ruckus — 06.26.07 @ 12:37 am
There are some very clear thinkers on your site, LaShawn. Some kind of cyber hypnosis, subliminal message that scares away dummies and pulls intelligent thoughts out of faceless websurfers?
The most salient issue raised in this comment section is about women making decent choices in the men they let impregnate them (thanks Jennifer!!!).
There is a great website that discusses the issue of black women’s often flat-out stupid choices in sperm donors (tiredblackman.com). White and black women alike, for some reason, seem to be attracted to violent idiots such as Sgt. Cutts like flies to sh*t. A primordial imperitive maybe??? Whatever the reason, this is a major problem in America, especially because women are no longer responsible for the decisions they make - it seems that no one is responsible for the decisions they make anymore.
Shame. This story is obviously sensationalism with a salacious racial undercurrent. You are right, Jennifer, this is a local Ohio story, but the implications are a national issue that we should all be talking about!
Comment by Justin — 06.26.07 @ 12:40 am
It’s hard to say for sure how race plays into media coverage since there are conflicting examples to support different arguments. Remember the media blackout on white Channon Christian and Chris Newsome’s rape, torture, and murder by five black thugs. On the other hand, I agree that we do see more white female faces in the “gone missing” stories. The coverage on Anna Nicole Smith was utterly revolting; never has there been a less worthy person. Oh, I forgot Paris Hilton! Okay, two unworthy persons, and yet they dominate the media coverage. I, for one, have NO interest in either of them.
I didn’t see this particular story in terms of race, however. I realize that many people do and apparently Cutts’ uncle is seeing it that way. I see this as a story about what happens to trashy people who make lots and lots of immoral choices. Really, the more disturbing thing for me is not even that Cutts killed his pregnant mistress (I can see how momentary rage could make someone do something stupid, ASSUMING perhaps he didn’t intend to kill her when he hit her), but that he deliberately and knowingly left his own two year old child alone in the house to wander around for several days with no food or water or protection. That had to be terrifying for that child. And what if grandma hadn’t appeared after two days? Three days without water will kill a child. Unbelievable.
Stories like this just emphasize for me how truly stupid so many women are. I don’t know why the stupidity of the women bothers me more than the evil of the men.
Comment by batyah — 06.26.07 @ 3:35 am
If today’s media operated with even a smidgeon of journalistic ethics, most of us wouldn’t know who Paris Hilton is.
Comment by RedBeard — 06.26.07 @ 6:26 am
I don’t remember if it was on a national or local (Baltimore) newscast, but I’ve seen the Stepha Henry case covered at least twice. The first time was about a week after she disappeared, and the second was a week or so after that with her mother’s heart-rending pleas. There may have been more coverage since then, but I haven’t been watching the news too much lately.
Comment by MikeM — 06.26.07 @ 6:43 am
I tend to agree with an earlier post. My first thoughts concerning the Ohio case was not about race, but about adultery, which was not focused on at all. I thought maybe the wife had found out…Then when they announced that the victim was the “boyfriend” I immediately thought of selfishness! How selfish of him to fool around on his wife and family, how selfish to impregnate other woman (and selfish of them to become involved with a married man; many times the other women DO know about the wife), and how selfish to kill someone for inconviencing your selfish plans, and especially how selfish to leave your 2-year-old son to fend for himself because of your problems. He could have at least taken his son to someone to make sure he ate and was properly taken care of. I have a 2 year old and they are just babies, whom God holds parents responsible to take care of. Hell is sure going to be full!
Comment by twill — 06.26.07 @ 9:36 am
In searching for news coverage re: Stepha Henry, sadly I’ve found more stories about media bias than actual efforts to find out what happened to her. I would rather hear about developments in her case than media bias at this point.
Re: Davis, the leading cause of death of pregnant women is homicide (usually at the hands of the baby’s father). Again, there is a time/place to focus on domestic violence and women choosing better partners (but if folks REALLY want to change things they’d also focus on the openly misogynistic society we live in that breeds MANY men like Cutts [although most of them don’t result to murder]). However, at this point the focus should be on bringing this case to trial and getting justice.
Comment by K. — 06.26.07 @ 9:49 am
I agree with you, LaShawn. It’s boring, not to mention downright creepy, the way someone like Greta Van Susteren will latch onto a missing blond to the exclusion of all other news. A full year spent on the missing blond chick in Aruba? Puh-leeze. Not to belittle what happened to these women, but certainly they are not the only newsworthy cases.
RG
Comment by RightGirl — 06.26.07 @ 10:06 am
Will someone please tell me how Cutts continued to hold on to his job despite the way he danced around the flames of criminal behavior? This could spin off into another LaShawn topic of lowering standards for the sake of “diversity”.
Comment by Ed — 06.26.07 @ 10:16 am
Well said La Shawn.
Comment by Shade — 06.26.07 @ 10:16 am
I just googled the news for Stepha Henry - 149 hits.
Google News for Jesse Davis - 1,791 hits.
Quite a disparity, but nonetheless, I saw the Henry story on Fox - Greta - which says to me that Fox at least made a concerted effort to report on the Henry case despite less interest. Why more interest in the Davis case? Possibly, more evidence of a potential murder, a woman about to give birth, a child involved who apparently witnessed the crime, and a cop as prime suspect. I’m not saying that one life is worth more than the other but I do think there’s more “interest” in the Davis case for the reasons I cited.
As for the Davis case, I have no doubt that when the facts come out on the case, there will be evidence of long-standing abuse.
Comment by dianne — 06.26.07 @ 10:39 am
The part of this whole thing that absolutely blows my mind is that this married man goes to his pregnant girlfriend’s house, and then either has convinced his back-up girlfirend? another girlfriend? to help him clean up the mess and hide the body. I admit that I have done some stupid things for guys I liked (e.g.rappelling - I am terrified of heights, but I didn’t want to look like a wimp.) I am pretty sure that I would draw the line at being an accessory to murder.
Comment by Stella! — 06.26.07 @ 10:47 am
TV coverage may NOT bring justice to Cutts et al.
Davis’s mother gave a crying press conference, yelled her thoughts out loud.
Doesn’t anyone think some of this will compromise the trial?
Comment by Frank Zavisca — 06.26.07 @ 10:59 am
The tabloid points for Stepha Henry are that she is beautiful, smart, young, vivacious. And maybe the “black angle” is a point as well in a sea of white victims.
The tabloid points against Stepha Henry are that she wasn’t a “clear victim.” She wasn’t snatched from her home or in a neutral place. She wasn’t on her way to her wedding or her mother’s funeral. She wasn’t pregnant. She wasn’t doing missionary work. She wasn’t already a media icon.
She went to a late night club with a guy who borrowed a car belonging to a friend of a friend and that guy did not escort her after arriving at the club. This works against her “innocent victim” status for tabloid purposes.
I keep referring to tabloids, because all of the cases from OJ to Davis to the dimwit “bride” are not really morality stories so much as they are salacious verbal and visual gossip.
We get caught up in the train wreck aspect of these cases. Jessie Davis got pregnant out of wedlock by a married man (twice?), but she seemed to have an otherwise fairly balanced life while the daddy was a serial “bad” man.
Stepha Henry had every right at her age to go to a club. Who knows what happened. But the “hook” isn’t there for a good train wreck story.
And that’s the way it is, June 26, 2007.
Comment by heliotrope — 06.26.07 @ 11:17 am
Will someone please tell me how Cutts continued to hold on to his job despite the way he danced around the flames of criminal behavior?
Cutts’ conviction before becoming a police officer was a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge that would not have been on his record. He was fired from his police job during another criminal case, yet when he was acquitted of all charges, and arbitrator ordered the city of Canton to rehire him with back pay.
Comment by Shade — 06.26.07 @ 12:20 pm
#15 — Uncle Ruckus — I agree there is no difference between Bobby Cutts and Scott Peterson, both are men who murdered pregnant women. Pregnant women, and even non-pregnant women are murdered all the time by the men in their life and the race of the murderer has absolutely nothing to do with the crime.
There is a big difference between Lacy Peterson and Jessie Davis. Lacy Peterson was married to her murderer, and while Scott Peterson did have a history that was suspect, and Lacy may have ignored some red-flags indicating Scott’s dangerous personality most of what people now point to is only in hindsight.
On the other hand, Jessie Davis chose to have sex with a man that was (1) not her husband (2) married to another woman (so if she did not know he was married to someone else when she bacame pregnant with the 2 year old Blake, she certainly knew it when she continued to have sex with him and became pregant with her now murdered baby.
I have read some racist comments on some other blogs that Jessie “deserved” this tragedy. No pregnant woman deserves to be murdered by the father of her baby. Do some women make bad choices that put them into potentially horrible situations — YES, YES, YES.
We all sin and fall short of the glory of God.
Someone posted that this story should be about finding the right partner — and not making bad choices in our selection of a mate. That should be the story. Some of us suffer ultimate tragedy for the choices we make, others make those same bad choices and appear to not suffer any consequences at all.
Sadly, it is Jessie’s family and Cutt’s family who are also suffering the tragedy of the very bad choices made by both of these people.
It is necessary for us to point out immoral behavior and not tolerate it!!!! Otherwise, we all will continue to suffer the consequences of these bad choices. — Evil is always looking for an opportunity. Evil found a home in Ohio.
Comment by Changed Life — 06.26.07 @ 1:32 pm
“Society” doesn’t raise children. Parents raise children. It’s our job as parents to make sure that our daughters AND our sons don’t make the kind of choices Cutts and Davis did.
There is one (very slightly) positive thing about the case: Cutts has been charged with TWO murders.
Comment by Trish — 06.26.07 @ 1:50 pm
I’m 100% with you on this one La Shawn.
And to those who think race has nothing to do with this. Come on. This is America. Race always has to do with it.
I just hope I never go missing and need to be found.
Comment by lucy — 06.26.07 @ 2:44 pm
Bobby Cutts’ name is so ominous. Policeman Slashes. He looks so unrepentant on TV, didn’t seem to care about the toddler, let alone the unborn child. I wrote “seem” because I don’t know what he is really thinking or feeling.
Comment by miron — 06.26.07 @ 2:47 pm
I’m agnostic on the role of race as a factor driving the publicity that this case is receiving. On the one hand, the lack of attention paid to the case of Henry seems to point to a preference for MSM publicizing the cases of white women but there are a couple of other contemporary high profile cases that are not receiving as much attention as Cutts: the (1) Vaughn family murders in Illinois, where the father killed his entire family and (2) the Benoit (Pro Wrestler) murders where the father-wrestler killed his entire family and then himself.
I think some of the non-racial reasons that people,in cluding myself, are captivated by the story, include:
(1) The missing woman’s two year old son was a witness to the killing and told investigators that his mommy was “hurt”, “she hit the table” and the she was “in the rug”. I think everyone was waiting for him to say that Daddy took Mommy away- if this can’t tug at your heartstrings what can’t
(2) The involvement of an almost due pregnant woman
(3) The father, the prime suspect in all of these kinds of cases, was a policeman.
I think these three factors, given any set of actors, would have raised people’s awareness of the case.
Thoughts?
Comment by James — 06.26.07 @ 4:00 pm
Batyah, I wondered the same when you said: I don’t know why the stupidity of the women bothers me more than the evil of the men.
Is it because we expect better of women? (No offence to the wonderful guys here, of course.
)
Comment by Carol — 06.26.07 @ 4:15 pm
(1) Vaughn family murders in Illinois, where the father killed his entire family and (2) the Benoit (Pro Wrestler) murders where the father-wrestler killed his entire family and then himself.
Neither of these cases involved a woman who was missing. The trend seems to to be toward national headlines when a young white woman goes missing as opposed to a young black woman.
And the Benoit case is receiving national attention if for no other reason than the fact that Chris Benoit was a rather popular professional wrestler.
Comment by Shade — 06.26.07 @ 4:30 pm
I’ve come to the conclusion that the common factor is an attractive, very vocal, very articulate(you should excuse the term!) mother. In such a situation, I suspect I’d just want to hide from the press, but these mothers are out there in front from day one, talking to the press, doing interviews etc and generally becoming media active. In other words, I suspect they enjoy the limelight, even in their grief. I find them a bit appalling, although it seems to me that that’s what it takes to keep the focus on finding the women who are missing. Maybe it says something about society as well.
Comment by suek — 06.26.07 @ 5:04 pm
Man, some of you people make everything a race issue. This was just a cop who killed his girlfriend and children, and nothing more. And wheres the media attention of the Illinois man who killed his family, and what about Chris Benoit?…
Comment by AAron — 06.26.07 @ 5:28 pm
Lucy - yes this is America and some people will make it about race — but it shouldn’t be because the murder of a pregnant woman by the father of her child is a story repeated over and over again with all races and combinations thereof.
I think it was the 911 call with the mother frantic and the 2 year old left alone that captured the attention of the media and then the family kept the story out there.
Comment by Changed Life — 06.26.07 @ 5:47 pm
Chris Benoit’s picture is front page on internet provider new services.
And AAron, your question was addressed in post #36. What I’m noticing is that folks who are quick to cite media bias that is negative toward whites seem to stuggle with admitting a particular media bias that does just the reverse. Post #25 is a good example.
Comment by Shade — 06.26.07 @ 5:52 pm
Two points ~
Unfortunately I don’t know why media picks up the stories it does. I don’t believe its all race related. Especially not the white female in distress. Look at the Christopher Newsom/Christian Cannon murder. Thats be widely underreported and unfortunately if you google it you get very few worthy news stories. Most of the hits come from racist blogs.
Yes, its very very sad that Paris Hilton bumped any story. She should be getting no media coverage. She has nothing to offer anyone yet she gets more coverage daily than the Iraqi war.
And Chris Beniot is on my ISP main page too. Pathetic.
Comment by Gina — 06.26.07 @ 7:11 pm
It is not as though stories where black women are the victim never make national headlines. However, it only seems to happen when there is political profit to be made out of it. I cannot help but contrast Stepha Henry’s case with the Duke “rape” case. The latter fit the media’s political prejudices perfectly (white rich men victimizing poor black woman). The media lost interest only when it became apparent that the black stripper in question lied.
Stepha’s case (so far) does not have anything that the media can exploit to advance a pet political cause. And since she does not fit the “sexy young white female” profile so beloved by the media, I doubt that we will see much about her in the future.
La Shawn, I am not sure that the exploits of slutty white women like Paris Hilton really sell, at least in terms of what the public wants in their news coverage. I think that the media – because of its prejudices for certain types of “victims†– covers this kind of garbage and then blames us by saying, “This is what the public wants.â€
Comment by Mwalimu Daudi — 06.26.07 @ 7:25 pm
#40 - “What I’m noticing is that folks who are quick to cite media bias that is negative toward whites seem to stuggle with admitting a particular media bias that does just the reverse. Post #25 is a good example.”
Huh? Where did I cite media bias that is negative towards whites? Answer is I didn’t. Show me where I did? Struggle with admitting a particular media bias that does just the reverse? As in .. is negative towards blacks? I did nothing of the sort. You appear to be interpreting what I’ve said in racial terms and that is simply stirring a pot which YOU choose to stir, Shade, not me.
Comment by dianne — 06.26.07 @ 7:31 pm
For those of you who claim that this has more to do with a pregnant woman being killed by her “boyfriend” than race need to look no further than LaToyia Figueroa. Who? Exactly my point. She also was mother of a toddler, pregnant when she went missing, and her boyfriend confessed to killing her. Unfortunately for her, she happened to be Black and Hispanic so no one really cared she was missing. She’s not what the public really wants.
Comment by Dallaschic — 06.26.07 @ 7:48 pm
For me, one of the stranger aspects of this case will be the role that Myisha Ferrell played in all of this nonsense. As the blogger, Terrance Says points out
“Did this hamburger helper (sorry, I couldn’t resist it) think she was going to “BINGO” with Bobby Cutts, Jr. by helping him dispose of Jessie Davis’ body? Was she swooned out of convenience? Was she forced to help? Or did she have a warped perspective of friendship?
What’s the deal?
Admittedly, I don’t know all of Bobby Cutts Jr.s’ relationships or sexual liaisons, but dude didn’t seem to be too interested in women who looked anything like Myisha Ferrell. Ferrell had to know this if she was “a friend”. Then for Ferrell’s dumb ass to be an accomplice in removing Jessie Davis’ body and dumping it in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is absurd.”
http://terrencesays.blogspot.com/
Comment by James — 06.26.07 @ 10:29 pm
they talked about the missing young woman in florida and the lack of media coverage on the view last week.
Comment by rh — 06.26.07 @ 11:52 pm
Submitted for Your Approval…
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Trackback by Watcher of Weasels — 06.27.07 @ 12:05 am
Shade, if the media cares more for little white darlings than for black female victims, how do you explain the media blackout on Channon Christian and Christopher Newsome murders? Seems to me the media was protecting the black rapists/murderers pretty intently in that case. How do you explain the incessant media coverage of the Duke [non] rape case, in which the [non] victim was black?
Comment by batyah — 06.27.07 @ 3:22 am
Wasnt there some controversy a few weeks ago about the MSM not purposely covering white victims of black perps? Hmm…..I guess this story kinda blows that outta the water.
I’m not convinced YET that this guy killed this woman. I’m waiting for the evidence to come out first. I heard he had a solid alibli, so we’ll see.
Comment by lukeNC — 06.27.07 @ 8:21 am
You bring up good B&W contrast, La Shawn. Case in point - Natalee Holloway -
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Natalee_Holloway
The white teenage girl who went missing in Aruba back in June, 2005. Her disappearance was covered 24/7 on CNN, MSNBC, et al for weeks on end.
Hers is just one example of this “white woman in distress” syndrome you mentioned. And since most of the media is biased toward the liberal side of the spectrum,
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/06/21/shocka-journalists-give-to-democrats-9-1/
it makes you wonder who the true bigots & racists are….
But, all is not lost. There are bright spots. Case in point - Precious Doe.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/05/precious.doe/
Don’t give up, La Shawn. There is hope.
Comment by locomotivebreath1901 — 06.27.07 @ 9:53 am
batyah
What part of “missing woman story” do you not understand? Channon Christian was found dead and her killers are in custody. She was not a missing person case. There was no urgency to save her because it was too late to do so.
The Duke case got media attention for the race and class angle and NOT due to any sympathy for the alleged victim. If the accuser had accused a team of predominantly black men, there would be little coverage. Thus, caring for the alleged victim was not the media’s motivation.
If Channon Christian and Christopher Newsome were a black couple who were killed by the same black killers, there would be little coverage. If they were a black couple killed by whites and the widespread assumption that there would be widespread media coverage was true, it would be solely due to the race angle that the media likes to play up and not particularly due to caring for the victims.
But, whether their is a white suspect or a black suspect, the media goes into urgent mode with regard to finding the missing “white darlings” and does not do the same for missing black girls and young women.
Comment by Shade — 06.27.07 @ 10:31 am
Uh, Shade, what part of “missing” do YOU not understand? Channon was missing for four days before she was found dead.
Comment by batyah — 06.27.07 @ 1:35 pm
Batyah and Shade…
I see the merits in both of your arguments.
Then, when I think about it some more, I realize there isnt really a double standard in the MSM.
I myself rarely watch the news anymore without a healthy dose of skepticism. Especially the cable news shows on CNN, Fox News, and etc.
When you deal with an industry that currently has a foundation of lies and half truths, what else can you do?
There’s no double standard, there’s just no standard, period.
Comment by lukeNC — 06.27.07 @ 1:49 pm
She was missing for THREE days. I would think it would take at least that amount of time to become a nationwide missing persons news story. Stepha has been missing for a month. Jessie Davis was missing for a week.
Read this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5325808
Comment by Shade — 06.27.07 @ 2:32 pm
Shade, methinks you are making up your own rules now. Whenever foul play is strongly suspected, the missing person becomes a news item almost immediately. That is, if the news media WANTS that story to play. If it doesn’t fit their agenda (black on white crime does not support their view of racism in quite the same way as white on black crime does.)
But, whatever. You know, I’m missing Dark Star. Where is he these days?
Comment by batyah — 06.27.07 @ 2:52 pm