Who Decides When a Missing Child gets National Media Coverage?’

      Children go missing in our country all the time. One source states that roughly over 800,000 children are reported missing each year. This number is obviously high, as many of these are ‘family abductions’, and are not typical kidnappings, the kind of the story national news media covers extensively. Yet hundreds of children are kidnapped, plucked on their way home from school or out of their bedrooms at night, yet we only hear about a handful of cases that have extensive national coverage. Local news media is generally supportive of local kidnappings, but what if the child was taken across state lines far away? Many times these children are rescued due to tips assisted by the media. So why is it that some cases never get the attention of the national media, ultimately abandoning the forgotten child and his family. I have always wondered, as I can watch the news for weeks covering the story of an abducted child out in Idaho, why can’t every abducted child receive fair and similar coverage that could help lead to them being found? Family prominence or affluence should not be a factor in determining the amount of effort in helping to locate a missing child the media should have. In many cases of child abductions being ignored by national media, coincidentally or not, the children have been minorities or from a poor family or a dangerous area. I cringe to think that the national media would still prioritize the life of a rich white child over other children, and I truly hope that fair national news coverage and justice is sought for all the missing children in our country.

Submitted by Anthony Federico