Laci Peterson, Why the Hype??

2/11/03 | myself - el_texicano

[el_texicano]

Ok, I have a question to all here in the forum. What is the big deal with the news coverage of the disappearance of Laci Peterson. I don't mean to come across as callous or unfeeling. Because I do feel for the family and such. And I fear that she is long dead.

However, here's my point. What is it that makes this case so important that it literally dominates the news. I can't go 30 minutes on Fox without a freeking update on Laci. Sheesh enough already.

Is it that news is slow and this is the best they can do?? It's like she was the daughter of the President or something. But she's not. Wife in a middle class family. There's nothing that makes this special other than the fact that she was pregnant. (Is that it??)

How many other times in a week does this same or similar thing happen in America?? Wife disappears, husband disappears, child disappears...all never to be heard from again.

Forgive me any and all, but I just don't get it. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me as to why this news story is as important as the pending war in Iraq where God knows how many of our brave military may have to lay down their lives to protect us.

Hmmmm??? Can any provide insight???

[xsmommy]

she is/was pregnant. that tugs at heartstrings. there is overwhelming public interest, and so the news will continue to cover it. didn't you read about how many hits the laci peterson website has been getting, from all over the world?

[Lee'sGhost]

Two things, I think:

1) It's a classic mystery and everyone thinks they know who did it.

2) Waxing your pregnant wife seems to be a particularly horrible thing to do, thus it garners more interest.

[geege]

What I'm sick of is freaky Micheal Jackson that Fox keeps talking about......I just change the channel when I hear the name......ditto for their Hollywood news also..

[AntiGuv]

Count me in full agreement...

[dep]

because she disappeared on christmas eve, which is a very slow news day. for the same reason, the jon benet ramsey thing has plagued us for years -- she was killed on christmas. it is entirely a matter of timing. at cbs, when i was there, we would latch onto something like this just to get away from the standard holiday thumbsuckers -- the arrival of christmas, after all, being a fairly predictable, fairly consistent event and therefore not really news.

dep

[Russ]

The same thing happened when Elizabeth Smart and Chandra Levy diappeared. I can't explain it but it must be of high interest to the public at large. People love mysteries and playing amateur detective. These type stories play to that.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

This story is the Chandra Levy of 2003. The upcoming war with Iraq/acts of terrorism will almost certainly push this story way into the background. If we suffer an attack like 9/11, we'll probably long for the innocent days of Laci Peterson and Michael Jackson's creepy lifestyle.

[el_texicano]

I understant the point about her being pregnant and all, but she's not the only person ever to have this happen to her. How many other women in recent months who were pregnant and met a nefarious end have had this sort of coverage? Very few if any I might add.

It just seems way overwrought.

[leadpencil1]

Same thoughts here. Seems like one network decides it will help ratings and then all are forced to cover it, to the point of going way overboard. Like when they have the talking heads going on and on and on. I turn the channel and watch how the giant two toed sloth of South America feeds at night until the news returns to something different.

Thank god for picture in picture.

[Space Wrangler]

Add to that that she was a gorgeous woman, who disappeared on Christmas Eve and 7 mos pregnant. It's also looking like the husband was involved. I think it has more to do with that little bit of voyeur that's in all of us. Kind of like rubbernecking an accident on the freeway. Here was what on the surface appeared to be the perfect couple, and as details emerge, it turns out life wasn't so perfect. It's an interesting story to many, and that's why it's on the news so often, even with a war looming.

[JennysCool]

We sometimes get into the habit of thinking "news" has to be some big international event. This one has mystery to spare, sympathy for the woman and her child, a lead suspect-who-is-not-officially-a-suspect, two families becoming increasingly at odds, a massive search, and the kind of middle American milieu where you think these things "aren't supposed to happen." This kind of stuff has been big news since the media began with cave paintings!

[el_texicano]

Oh, yeah...Michael Jackson. You have my fullest agreement. That guy makes me want to puke.

[goldstategop]

The big deal? It could be your wife and child. That's why Laci Peterson's fate has evoked such universal human interest. We identify with her because it could happen any time to a loved one in our family, whether its a spouse or a child.

[Capt. Tom]

Many Americans have a soap opera mentality, and if you can work soap opera stories into the news you will have an audience.

Remember the incredible reaction to Princess Dianna when she died in an auto accident. I saw some women that took it as though Dianna was a friend of the family. Dianna led a soap opera life for many Americans. - Tom

[el_texicano]

My appreciation to all how have (and will respond). Your answers are appreciated and they do help me understand this a bit more. (Though I still am sick of hearing about it.) Kudos to all.

[dep]

problem is, there are scores of similar events every year that go utterly uncovered except, perhaps, locally.

dep

[goldstategop]

Granted. What's so different about Laci except that she's a volubly pregnant middle class woman and wife?

[el_texicano]

I understand your response that it could be my wife and child. Yes, it could be. But the point is, there are many, many others who suffer the same, but don't seem to merit the same level of "help" from the media. I would dare say that the media don't give a rat's rear end about Laci. It's a story, something they can use to get ratings.

Sorry that I sound so cynical, but would you disagree with me, honestly?

[el_texicano]

Chandra Levy...now I can more understand that coverage than this one. Aide to a prominent Democrat congressman in Washington. Politicals tend to feed on themselves like sharks.