Stepha Henry Missing...

ljkelly · #1 06-13-2007, 10:39 AM

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline...ill_dont_.html

Here is an article from USA Today about Stepha Henry, the Black young lady that has been missing for 14 days now. It is about the lack of media coverage this story is receiving...

What do you think?

(I did a search for this so I hope it is not already being discussed.)

OneTimeSBX · #2 06-13-2007, 10:50 AM

i just caught that story last night...

please tell me why it took 14 days for someone to make this public? i understand adults run off without telling people, but i cant help but think that race plays a small part in it...this isnt the first time i have heard weeks, even months later that women of color (not just black) have disappeared.

shinerbock · #3 06-13-2007, 10:52 AM

I can't get the link to open...but I think this is an interesting issue.

I'm inclined to think the disparity in media coverage isn't over race, because I see no rhyme or reason to why some people get covered and others don't. Many white women who go missing get little or no mention, and I know this happens for black missing women as well. Obviously, missing young men get nearly no coverage. If anything, I think it has to do with the interest in the story. Media outlets unfortunately don't seem to make decisions based on bringing attention to the situation, but rather on the likely public interest in the story. I think those most likely to get covered are attractive young women from wealthy communities (Natalie Holloway). Obviously someone disappearing from a downtrodden urban area or a impoverished rural town has less shock value, and thus probably doesn't prompt the public interest.

Granted, I'm sure some people would/could make the case that there are racial issues in these other factors, but I don't think the lines are that clearly drawn.

pinkies up · #4 06-13-2007, 10:54 AM

I believe that FOX news had covered the story first. They also covered the story involving the young black highschool student, who was found dead in a pool in Ghana. I forgot the young lady's name, so I guess that goes to show how much coverage is NOT being shown regarding these young black women. Remember, the girl from Kansas who was abducted from Target was on the news CONSTANTLY.

Stepha was a recent college graduate from John Jay College and was a criminal justice major. It's really sad and scary.

jitterbug13 · #5 06-13-2007, 10:55 AM

I knew it took months for them to feature a girl who was missing from Spartanburg. I was living in Charleston at the time and didn't know it until someone e-mailed me about it. And Charleston and Spartanburg are three hours away in the same state. Incidents like this are one of the few reasons I'm glad I'm not in journalism anymore.

OneTimeSBX · #6 06-13-2007, 11:12 AM

here in Richmond a girl disappeared from VCU. until they found her body a while later, it was the #1 story on the news. it was once again, an attractive girl from a well off family.

now i know that the news doesnt have the time to cover EVERYBODY missing. but wouldnt it be great if they took time out to mention at least one different person a day...?

p.s i am all about finding missing children, no matter who they are or where they came from...so if the news wants to bombard me with 6 year old after 6 year old, i dont mind.

SummerChild · #7 06-13-2007, 01:13 PM

It's a shame that they have not covered the story more. I think that either the news companies should have a policy of not covering anyone or covering everyone that comes to their attention. I guess that that would be too much like fair.

I don't know if race is more of a factor or economics. Is Stepha's family rich? It seems to me that most of the people who get alot of coverage are rich girls. Look at the coverage of Paris. Look at the coverage of the girl whose family could afford to send her to Aruba for her high school graduation present...rich. Look at the little girl who was a model, Jon Benet...rich.

On the black side, there was coverage of Bill Cosby's son...rich, Tony Dungee's son...rich. I think that America is a racist county but I also think that America is so caught up in materialism that we actually value people as humans by how much loot their family has. I would be surprised if Stepha's family is rich given the almost non-existent coverage that she has received.

There is definitely a huge discrepancy going on and it's ridiculous. How are people supposed to help solve the crime if we don't even know about it?

It is very sad. Here is a young woman at the beginning of her life. And it could have been any one of us. How many of us have gone to a club? Probably every one of us. And, in the south, they stay open later. So the 4:13 a.m. thing did not phase me at all. That is not abnormal and it could have been any one of many of us.

SC

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljkelly

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline...ill_dont_.html

Here is an article from USA Today about Stepha Henry, the Black young lady that has been missing for 14 days now. It is about the lack of media coverage this story is receiving...

What do you think?

(I did a search for this so I hope it is not already being discussed.)

shinerbock · #8 06-13-2007, 01:32 PM

I think the economic thing is a factor, as I said, but I think its more of a "wow, this is unexpected" thing than a "lets cover this because rich people are inherently more important." I think it often comes down to a "this kind of stuff just doesn't happen in Mountain Brook" ideology, which obviously grabs the public attention.

stardusttwin17 · #9 06-13-2007, 03:58 PM

Its been on the news here but I'm not sure if it aired in FL. Part of the issue is she is from Brooklyn NY and went missing in Miami,FL while on vacation. Her aunt reported her missing and the police didn't come to take the report for 5 days. At some point I'm sure they are tired of taking reports when the majority of them are resolved hours later when the visiting spring breaker finally shows up however when its a serious case like this it results in lost time that can't be recovered.

The thing that has me

is she went to the club with a friend who claims he left her at the club. Not that he left her because she was talking to someone else but just left her there. She's in FL, not like she could hop on the train to get home so how was she suppossed to get back to her aunts house?? The car he was allegedly driving is missing also. His story doesn't make any sense and while the case is finally getting nationwide coverage I think this will be solved sooner rather than later once they catch up to whatever he was trying to clean up this past week.

I wish there was a way to distribute information regarding missing people/children better than milkboxes and random forwarded emails. Perhaps one dedicated website that highlights all amber type alerts?

OneTimeSBX · #10 06-13-2007, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stardusttwin17

I wish there was a way to distribute information regarding missing people/children better than milkboxes and random forwarded emails. Perhaps one dedicated website that highlights all amber type alerts?

i am not 100% sure what the website is, but i get all amber alerts sent to my cell phone for my state. its a great idea, seeing as how i spend a lot of time on the road, plus they put it up on our digital road signs to check a certain radio station for details.

Confucius · #11 06-13-2007, 08:35 PM

I am not buying the argument that "race doesn't have anything to do with the lack of air time coverage," concerning this woman's disappearance!

If anyone believes that argument, you have been sipping the Kool-Aid.

I also know for a fact that the "Faux" News network has to shake off some of their super conservative image and over the top "anti-minority/liberal/gay/anything not conservative news" coverage. So naturally, they are going to start picking up stories concerning blacks; that do not include embarrassing Ludacris.

But none the less, I hope they find Stepha because this is truly a tragedy. AND....this could happen to any one of us. Including, the lack of media coverage.

MzJ25 · #12 06-14-2007, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Confucius

I am not buying the argument that "race doesn't have anything to do with the lack of air time coverage," concerning this woman's disappearance!

If anyone believes that argument, you have been sipping the Kool-Aid.

I totally agree with this.
I just heard about this yesterday by listening to Tom Joyner on my way to work.

Look at the case of Natalie Holloway. She went to Aruba with friends and dissapeared a few yrs ago and we are still kept up to date on her story.
But an African American woman named Tamika Houston was missing around the same time in South Carolina and I'm sure that most people never heard her story.

jitterbug13 · #13 06-14-2007, 09:53 AM

^^^^
That was the story I was talking about eariler. At least her family did receive some kind of closure. A lot of people who have missing relatives don't get that.

ljkelly · #14 06-14-2007, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Confucius

I am not buying the argument that "race doesn't have anything to do with the lack of air time coverage," concerning this woman's disappearance!

If anyone believes that argument, you have been sipping the Kool-Aid.

I also know for a fact that the "Faux" News network has to shake off some of their super conservative image and over the top "anti-minority/liberal/gay/anything not conservative news" coverage. So naturally, they are going to start picking up stories concerning blacks; that do not include embarrassing Ludacris.

But none the less, I hope they find Stepha because this is truly a tragedy. AND....this could happen to any one of us. Including, the lack of media coverage.

Agreed!

nikki1920 · #15 06-20-2007, 05:28 PM

I saw a story about this on CNN on the 13th. Still no updates?