The Washington Monthly

May 9, 2005

WHITE CHICKS....Former Bob Dole press secretary Douglas MacKinnon writes a column in the Chicago Tribune about a subject that came up in conversation just last night in the Drum living room:

Note to the news media — with an emphasis on the cable networks: Enough is enough.

Your continual focus on, and reporting of, missing, young, attractive white women not only demeans your profession but is a televised slap in the face to minority mothers and parents the nation over who search for their own missing children with little or no assistance or notice from anyone.

....I have a number of friends at the cable networks (or at least I did), and I have spoken to some about this very subject. While all professed disgust with the underreporting of missing minority women and young adults, most were very uneasy with the thought of shining a spotlight on their own management to ascertain an answer. "Besides," one of them told me, "you've already figured it out. We showcase missing, young, white, attractive women because our research shows we get more viewers. It's about beating the competition and ad dollars."

MacKinnon provides chapter and verse on this, but it's not as if we need it. After all, cable TV's obsession with pretty white women in danger is hardly subtle. Maybe Crossfire needs to investigate.

—Kevin Drum 1:56 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (0)

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