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U.S. NEWS Friday 4 November 2022
New calculator tackles inequality in missing persons stories

By David Bauder and race details from a da- featured in 70% of the sto-
Associated Press tabase maintained by the ries.
NEW YORK (AP) — If you U.S. Department of Justice. According to the calcula-
went missing, how much The data was used to gen- tor, the disappearance of
press would you be erate a rough estimate of a 22-year-old white woman
“worth”? The Columbia how much public attention in New York would gener-
Journalism Review unveiled a person would get based ate 67 stories. If she were
a tool on Thursday that cal- on who they are, said Kyle three years older, that num-
culates the number of sto- Pope, CJR’s editor in chief ber would drop to 19. And
ries your disappearance and publisher. The starkly a missing 25-year-old Black
would net, based on de- named site AreYouPress- woman from New York
mographics. worthy.com asks users to would get eight. A 50-year-
It sounds morbid but the enter their age, gender, lo- old Black man in the same
exercise is designed to call cation and ethnicity. city would net six.
attention to “missing white As the site goes through The results page also iden-
women syndrome,” the each step, the user is in- tifies the outlets most and This screenshot shows the The Columbia Journalism Review
tendency of news orga- formed that the disappear- least likely to cover the website. If you went missing, how much press would you be
nizations to pay relatively ance of older people and user’s hypothetical dis- “worth”? The Columbia Journalism Review unveiled a tool on
little attention to missing men are less likely to make appearance and calcu- Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 that calculates the number of stories your
people who don’t fit that the news. The tool distin- lates what percentage disappearance would net, based on demographics. (AP Photo)
category. guishes between stories of Americans would hear
The late journalist Gwen Ifill in the local and national about you. More than 92% journalists in decision-mak- ized, Hartmann said. Some-
is credited with coining the press, so people in larger of Americans would have ing roles and hard-to-break times, she said, people are
term two decades ago. cities — where there are heard about a 22-year-old habits. too simplistically charac-
Yet in the interim, there’s more news outlets — have missing white woman from “There’s clearly an imbal- terized as runaways, and
been little indication that a “higher chance of being Nevada, the tool says. ance,” said Angeline Hart- thus not included in stories
coverage decisions have reported on than people in Why does that matter? mann, spokesperson for the about missing children.
evolved. rural areas.” White people “When a missing persons’ National Center for Miss- CJR has made similar ef-
“It’s like a bolt that has been are the most likely to get case is seen by more peo- ing & Exploited Children. forts to call attention to dis-
rusted in place,” said Jelani covered, while Black and ple, their chances of being “What needs to happen is information and coverage
Cobb, dean of the Colum- Hispanic people have the found increase,” the site the playing field should be of climate control and is-
bia Journalism School. lowest chance of cover- states. leveled.” sues surrounding guns.
The media firestorm around age. There was no comparable But Hartmann said there is Pope said he hoped their
the disappearance and About 38% of the people data from when “missing more than just demograph- newest online tool will at-
death of Gabby Petito last who go missing in the Unit- white person syndrome” ics at play in determining tract attention on social
year renewed scrutiny of ed States are Black, more was first talked about two what stories get coverage. media, particularly among
the practice, with Petito’s than double the percent- decades ago. The media also gravitates news consumers who might
own family imploring me- age of Black people in the “We have to place a spot- to stories where there are then put pressure on their
dia to give all missing peo- general population, the light on the way that the plenty of photos and vid- local news outlets to keep
ple the same attention. Black and Missing Founda- media functions and the eos available of the victim the issue in mind. Each re-
Researchers at CJR and the tion says. way in which we devalue — like in Petito’s case — sults page ends with the
ad agency TBWA/Chiat/ Black people accounted — inadvertently or not — and a family member will- pictures and names of peo-
Day/New York examined for 22% of the missing peo- the lives of people that ing to be an on-camera ple who are currently miss-
3,600 stories about missing ple in the data examined we’re supposed to cover,” spokesperson. Those things ing and “haven’t received
people done last year by by CJR, and just 13% of the Cobb said. make journalists’ job easier. any press coverage at all,”
U.S.-based news organi- news stories. White people, Implicit bias is partly to Similarly, authorities need along with an encourage-
zations, cross-referencing who made up 47% of the blame, he said, along with to take a close look at how ment to contact authorities
them with age, gender missing person cases, were a lack of diversity among situations are character- with any information.q

In campaign swing, Biden focuses on

incumbent Democrats

midterm elections reveals a president who has been Roosevelt in 1934, Bill Clin-
his defensive stance in the held at arm’s length by ton in 1998, and George W.
campaign’s closing days: most Democrats in tough Bush in 2002 saw their par-
He’s spending the bulk of races this cycle. It also sug- ties gain seats in the mid-
his time trying to hang on to gests that the president, terms.
seats that his party already whose approval rating Some recent presidents
holds. remains underwater, has saw big losses in their first
Biden is kicking off a four- concluded that he can be midterm races. Republi-
state, three-day cam- most effective using the cans under Donald Trump
paign swing on Thursday waning days before polls lost 40 House seats but
to support Democrats in close to shore up support gained two Senate seats
President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One at
Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, en route competitive races in sol- for Democratic candidates in 2018; Democrats un-
to New Mexico. idly blue California, Illinois in areas that he easily won der Barack Obama lost 63
(AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel) and New Mexico as well in 2020. House seats and six Senate
as battleground Pennsylva- The president’s party typi- seats in 2010; and Demo-
By Aamer Madhani dent Joe Biden’s travel plan nia, where Biden has deep cally faces significant losses crats under Bill Clinton lost
Associated Press for his last big campaign roots. His itinerary illustrates during midterm elections. 52 House seats and eight
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- swing before Tuesday’s the limited political clout of Since 1934, only Franklin D. Senate seats in 1994.q