[arcangel]

I know that a lot of people in the US and here at PC seem to be fascinated by the Anthony story. I remember the same thing happened with Natalee Holloway, Chandra Levy, etc
I'm just curious why some stories attract the fascination of people while others, like the Brisenia Flores murder, don't attract much national attention.
Is it the opportunity for amateur sleuthing or is it just the press coverage?

[Elysium]

I'm not sure what the answer is. I recall hearing about Brisenia's murder and it disgusted me. Everyone is forever focused on "Terrorists" and I think people just assume that they must come from other places far, far away. I think that some people have a lot of trouble facing the fact that there are "Terrorists" right under our noses....and that they can be our neighbors, our friends, our Priests, our Teachers....our Presidents. For many, I think this is a scary thought that causes them to feel way too vulnerable in their own skin. They have an emotional and physiological need to push "Terrorists" as far away as they can, in order to give them a better sense of security, however false that sense of security may be.

It seems the Press dropped the topic of Brisenia's murder way too easily and way too soon and I think it has a lot to do with what I mentioned above.

I also think it has a lot to do with Politics and people in supposed high ranking places have a way of silencing even the loudest whisper. Take a look at NBC....they are owned by General Electric (GE), and GE owns more Defense contracts in this world than Imelda Marcos had shoes. When you have such a politically charged company at your helm...it's easy to see how something as important as this child's death would get swept under the proverbial rug.

I have no other answer.

[ECHOES]

I can only speak for myself and say that I am interested in a crime when the psychology behind it fascinates me, or the people involved make me curious.

[madisgram]

i know what you mean. i believe some cases, disappearances, murders get more media attention than others. sadly it's caused by the media picking what they are going to report. however beth holloway for example got the attention cause she was relentless to get coverage. the casey anthony case got media attention mostly in florida at first. it spread like a cancer once the national press got hold of it. it's upsetting enough to know a sweet little girl was murdered. the sensationalism of this case is incredibly upsetting when we are barraged incessantly on tv about the case by the media. there's enough heartache going on in our world today. this stuff is in our face regardless of if we follow it or not.

[lmiDAKiml]

You'll have to realize that news today is not the same as news was 50 years ago. News reporting today is for ratings. The news of today is an entertainment business and seeks first and foremost to give the people what they want to see rather than what they need to see.

[arcangel]

Originally Posted by lmiDAKiml

You'll have to realize that news today is not the same as news was 50 years ago. News reporting today is for ratings. The news of today is an entertainment business and seeks first and foremost to give the people what they want to see rather than what they need to see.

Good point. The line between news and entertainment is very blurry. There were parties and events at sports bars here to enjoy and cheer on the first night of the Iraq invasion on bigscreen tv. I've noticed that my hometown paper or tv news will occasionally run a story from a syndicated news org about a tragedy that occurred in a distant city or state. Makes me wonder if there weren't enough local tragedies that day or if maybe they are just fishing for the next big obsession.
I'm a little surprised that the Jamie Leigh Jones case didn't get any attention here given the demographics of PC.

[Open Eyes]

Well first of all the interest was about the child and the circumstances of the case.
More women than men really took interest, except for the news reporters and the opinion seeking of the male and female attorneys.

I have to be honest, one of the pictures of Caylee with her head resting in her hands, she really looks like my daughter did at that age. Ofcourse to me, my daughter was the most beautiful little girl in the world and I couldn't believe she came from me. Out of all the things I have experienced in my life, my child, having a child was the most amazing experience. And to be honest, I couldn't really watch the case on TV until near the end. I pretty much wanted to ignore it altogether, but that would be hiding from the realities in life. And I guess I could not understand at all how a mother could take the life of such a beautiful child. If I could show you a picture of my daughter at that age you would be amazed at how much she looked like that child, I was amazed. And the thought of ever harming my child, well I would harm myself first. And I also wondered what I would have done had Casey been my child. I do know that from what I hear about the way her mother treated her, I would have never said those things. I have listened to people who witnessed how Casey was treated by her mother. But it sounds like the whole family was very disfunctional.

In a way I am glad they made a lot of it because it draws attention to the abuse children suffer, abuse that many people ignore. And I already talked about my reporting of abuse experience. And it would be nice if there was real attention put on the psychological profile of Casey and even how to possibly raise a child like that so this would not occur. From what I have read, if she was a psychopath or sociopath because I have heard both terms, the treatment by her parents could have pushed her to take hateful spiteful measures.

If some way it forces people to take steps to reporting something they feel is wrong, than it would be worth this attention. Even if it makes some parents step back and realize the significance of the life of a child, they may pay closer attention to their own child. Often children don't really get the appreciation and guidance they deserve. So anything in my opinion that helps bring that into focus is worth the attention.

They made a big deal about donating stuffed animals to a place where children less fortunate could have toys. I know for a fact that the number of homeless children has gone way up in this economy. So in my opinion donations should go to something set up to help find housing for these families and children and FOOD.

And Esylium is right, we all want to think the bad guy is just on TV or far away from us, we could not be farther from the truth. They have these programs on how we rescue animals who are being mistreated or starved. What about having a program where it is showing that much attention on pointing to the children that are being abused that need to be rescued as well. IDK

I guess your not going to really understand the passion unless you have had a child of your own that you feel is just the most amazing thing that you could ever do in life and certainly a love unsurpassed by any other.

Open Eyes

[arcangel]

You're missing the point here. It isn't about the Anthony case. It's about mass obsession and the reasons for that obsession. I don't see how any of your rationales could apply to the other cases mentioned or to the Simpson case or the Schiavo case.
I wonder if 20 years ago Casey Anthony may have been deserving all of this "compassion"?
You failed to even mention Brisenia Flores. No passion there?

I guess your not going to really understand the passion unless you have had a child of your own that you feel is just the most amazing thing that you could ever do in life and certainly a love unsurpassed by any other.

Casey Anthony and Andrea Yates were mothers. I guess they didn't "understand the passion" either.


No one has to be a parent to see the tragedy of what happened to this child.

[lizardlady]

Originally Posted by lmiDAKiml

You'll have to realize that news today is not the same as news was 50 years ago. News reporting today is for ratings. The news of today is an entertainment business and seeks first and foremost to give the people what they want to see rather than what they need to see.

IMHO, ImiDAKiml nailed it. News today is about ratings, more than about what's newsworthy. Someone mentioned it in the Casey Anthony thread and it kind of got lost. Caylee was a cute little white girl from a middle class family. Had she been some child of color from the 'hood the media wouldn't have given it airtime. Before anyone jumps on me, I am horrified by what happened to Caylee, however she died she didn't deserve to be dumped in a filed and forgotten. But the reality is that there are thousands of kids in this country living in horrific conditions every day the media doesn't say a thing about it because it won't boost their ratings. It's a numbers game.

[Open Eyes]

I guess it is ok or different to have a mass obsession about a rock group called the Beatles or Elvis Presley and the beat goes on.

How about American Idol, there are massive people that get involved with that.

Do you ever get tired of hearing about Hitler? There again someone who comited crimes that we call atrocious.

Personally I think that it would be benificial to give the air time to finding homes for people and sharing ideas about how to deal with this economy, wait is there a specific channel that actually addresses that? LOL

And I would get upset if a black child was treated the same way or any child for that matter.

I think it is just human nature.

I could be missing the point again, not myself lately.

Open Eyes

[arcangel]

You did miss it again my friend but you're getting closer

http://www.google.com/search?num=100...aqi=&aql=f&oq=

[lmiDAKiml]

I don't typically read the news anymore, tbqh. If something does come to my attention, however, I always read multiple articles. It's kind of frightening how hard it can be to get all of the facts without a bias one way or another. I also tend to find non-American reports to be more neutral. e.g. Reuters, Dailymail, Guardian, etc.

[lmiDAKiml]

I should elucidate that I don't typically pay attention to the news because I have a distinct lack of interest in the clothing styles of Michelle Obama and where William and Kate are going on their honeymoon.

[Queen of Chaos]

I tend to be more interested in high profile cases that involve children. I'm not familiar with one story you've mentioned, arcangel, but one that continues to interest me is the little girl (Madelyn) who disappeared while her family was vacationing. I think I'm eternally hoping for a good ending.

I couldn't care less about mysteries and controversies surrounding celebrities but I do follow world politics and I guess I find William and Kate too charming to not notice. I'm not one iota interested in the dysfunctional behavior of people like Charlie Sheen or Lindsey Lohan.

I truly believe Casey Anthony is getting away with murder - never more so than because of news today that the Florida judge suppressed a prison video made at the time Casey realized the body found was Caylee. Whatever the video shows, the judge deemed it was too condemning of Casey to be shown to the jurors. I don't think anything should be withheld as evidence on the grounds that it might influence the jurors' opinion of the defendent.

Now, in all probability, the video will be made public because it is public record.

I guess the bottom line is I enjoy mysteries and I prefer believing justice is served, even if it doesn't happen overnight.

[lizardlady]

Originally Posted by arcangel

You did miss it again my friend but you're getting closer

Huh? Who is this directed to arcangel?

[arcangel]

To my friend