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The disappearance of seven-year-old Kyron Horman on June 4th has sparked collective concern from Oregonians and ignited a firestorm of local and national coverage, from CNN to People Magazine. A few weeks ago we checked in on the search, as law enforcement went from looking for a missing child to launching a criminal investigation. A Facebook page for Kyron Horman has been set up, with people all over the country posting their thoughts about the family, the coverage and the investigation.
How closely have you been following the Kyron Horman case? Where have you turned to for news about his disappearance? What do you expect the coverage to tell you on a daily basis? Have you been impressed or disappointed by the coverage you've seen, read or heard?
Tagged as: kids · kyron horman · media · missing child · school
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Like most people, I was saddened to hear about the little boy's disappearance. I was also impressed with the parents, staying out of the spotlight and saying that the attention should be on the boy. I was amazed at the scale of the search effort, which at one point involved 1300 people.
Now I don't know what to think. There is, of course, still sympathy for the parents. But since the initial search effort ended, there have been less emphasis on keeping the attention on the boy and more on the family members. The "if it bleeds it leads" reporters are digging into whatever little tidbits are out there from sources or public records, and are interviewing anyone who will talk on camera. Those from the more respectable local news organizations are now citing anonymous "reliable sources" in their reporting. A well-known and high-profile local defense attorney is now involved.
My sympathy is now accompanied by a feeling I'm being manipulated. And so I've tuned out, relying upon the police to do their job, preferably behind the scenes, and hoping we don't all end up feeling like fools when this is all over. -
Would a "respectable" source engage in "yellow journalism"?
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There is a great deal of frustration over this tragic case, probably stemming from several factors.
I personally feel that news outlets are not giving us enough, feeding off each other's reporting because they are hampered by the seemingly slow investigation, and the family members' choices—for whatever reasons—in releasing news and making public appearances. Of course, lack of information leads to speculation, and as time goes by, more of that can cloud real issues.
This crime, whether it is murder or kidnapping, seemed at the outset to be an easy investigation, with an obvious choice for a likely suspect. Then other factors entered the equation: a woefully inadequate school alert system and questions about who saw what at school, a family reluctant to talk to the public (or even talk to their missing child over the airwaves, very strange), and a sheriff's department that, forgive me, does not sound like it is being as aggressive, as it could be, making emotionally reassuring but not confidence-inspiring comments to the public. Further, it would seem the family of Kyron is making all the decisions regarding what information goes out to the public, and this might satisfy the needs of the family members, but some of the details that have come out very late in this case (photos, the child's likes and dislikes) might have helped the search and the investigation if they had been released at the getgo. Again, forgive this, but it almost seems as though there has been a plan involving more than one family member . . . perhaps terribly gone wrong . . . to kidnap the poor child, draw media attention, discover him again, and sell the story.
But there you go—speculation due to public ignorance. This said, I wonder if the news outlets have been following this case on an investigative basis, an adequate budget notwithstanding, following up on theories that are even a bit wild, such as what I posed above.
In a society where information is immediate, albeit not totally accurate, and communication/input is also immediate, impatience at such an investigation is not unusual; add the unanswered fate of a sweet child and you have people wanting more details on the progress of the case. And not hearing media outlets quoting each other, recirculating old details.
Mostly, the public is impatient to have this case solved.
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This is all very new to me and this article really opened my eyes.Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.
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I have no reason to doubt that all four parents (Mom, Dad, Stepmom. Stepdad) love Kyron and want him home safe. I also have no doubt that we are all hoping for a happy resolution to this case.
And, yes, I know it is common practice to start with the investigation of a death or missing person with those who are closest to the victim, but that statement that Kyron's mom made the other day seems to imply that Terri is not cooperating.
The investigation would have been much further along had the school notified parents that Kyron was marked absent during homeroom, instead of waiting until the school bus came and he didn't get off.
Kyron, we hope you're safe and well, wherever you are. I'm sure your family misses you!
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The media coverage has been weak. The fact that the stepmother had a criminal history, and is still on probation was not in the media until the fourth week of the coverage, as far as I can tell. This is crucial information and would have greatly influenced the public view of the disapearance and search. I don't mean to be negative, but the likelihood of the boy being found safely after the third or fourth day was slim. Does anyone realistically think that the poor kid was alive, lying in the woods for several days? But the media has pounded an unrelenting drumbeat of The Search for Kyron. I think this was just fueling unrealistic expectations and misplaced energy. Of course, the main purpose of this type of coverage is to get the public to continue to tune in to the next Update on the Search.
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I have about 1400 people on my Cedar Mill News email list. I passed along info about the effort the Skyline Grange was making to assist the searchers, knowing that some of my readers would want to help.
Within a couple of hours, I was called by a TV reporter wanting to know if I could help them get into the Grange Hall, even though the Grange folks had posted signs banning the press.
This predatory press behavior -- get something to fill the airwaves -- helps raise everyone's fear level.
A local effort to get more kids walking to school is up against this perceived "stranger danger." I contend that life is no more dangerous than it ever was, it's just that we hear so much about every little thing that happens.
Fearful people are more easily led. Don't trade your freedom for safety.
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"I contend that life is no more dangerous than it ever was, it's just that we hear so much about every little thing that happens. "
I agree. The inherent characteristic of news is that is about something bad that happened somewhere, and now we are told about things that happen in parts of the world that fifty years ago would not have made it into any major US news let alone down to our local levels.
The thing I constantly remind myself of is that by far the vast majority of people in the world are good decent people doing the best they can for themselves, their children and families, and their communities. The bad news is about a very small minority.
But good news doesn't catch the attention of the people that advertising is directed at, it just doesn't hold their attention like a fear based story does. So the media grabs onto any bad news in order to sell advertising. And the Rupert Murdoch media empire is a pioneer of the worst of them all, he has dragged all the media down into the pit of fear-mongering yellow journalism with him.
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I suspected Terri from the beginning...but what else is new?
I wonder why it took the landscaper over 6 months to come forward with the information about the murder for hire? Why didn't he come forward when Kyron first came missing or did he and they investigators are just now getting around to that tip?
I wonder if in her body building attempt did she take steriods or other things that would have made her coo coo, or was she just nuts before hand?
Why does his parents believe he is still alive? Is it their wishful thinking, or do they know something that is not been made public?
I wish... there was more we could do to bring him home. I know they are being meticulous... but I sure wish they would hurry up. He consumes my thoughts every day. I can't imagine what his parents must be going through :o(
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A week -- maybe two -- into the case, the Oregonian ran a Sunday, front-page above-the-fold story that more or less celebrated Kyron's "blended family." It painted a picture of several adults -- Kyron's various parents -- who not only all loved and cherished Kyron, but had a great friendship and closeness among themselves. Was the Oregonian played here? Because that story turned out to be the polar opposite of the truth. How did the Oregonian get this story so completely wrong?
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Do so many people really care? It surprises me, it honestly does. Realistically, I must not care that much, I didn’t go out and search. Maybe, I assume too many people are like me? Perhaps, most people are kinder and have more empathy. Of course the cynic in me says people just want to be part of something, part of a good versus evil group. Sometimes it seems like we use children in our society as a trump card. Rather then to celebrate their innocence, or protect it, we use it as a tool of manipulation. Maybe, we have gotten that desperate? Or have we just given up on there being any hope for ‘the adults?’ Is it really that our culture is trying to protect children or are we just trying to indoctrinate and shape them, because we have so little control over any other part of society?
It is terrible that Kyron Horman is missing. We can only imagine how unprepared anyone would be for this type of tragedy. How any family should or could act. We seem to want to blame someone for his disappearance as much as we want to find the boy. Of course we keep hearing how it must be the family, as if that tells us something we couldn’t have guessed without statistics. Yes, the odds are that plucking a random child from obscurity out of a sea of children, is mostly likely going to be someone with a particular interest in that child. Do we really have any idea what to expect in a tragedy? As if the abnormal should somehow work normally. Whatever happened, and whoever made it happen, it won’t ever explain things, it won’t ever make us understand---because, people don’t abduct children because it makes sense.
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IMHO this is an inapprorpiate discussion. Kyron is still missing, if Think Out Loud wants to talk about him, it should be about finding him, not this kind of titilating sensationalism. We know journalists feel bad covering it. We all feel bad about it. Wouldn't it be common decency to refrain from talking about anything but finding him right now? A daily Kyron update on efforts to find him would be fine, this on the other hand comes off as sensationalist.
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Mrs. Anne, I'm appalled that you are online talking about us talking about the Kyron case and not out searching for him! I know you feel bad, but it's indecent of you. An update on your efforts to find Kyron would be fine, but it would be appreciated if you would please refrain from posting sensationalistic comments such as the one above. Thank you.
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lol, you're funny Pete.
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media goes for the obvious and easiest/cheapest-to-produce story. THe rankest speculation is getting air and print time.
This reminds me of the Jonbennet Ramsey story. The arc of that tragedy was amazing in how many false leads or rumors got printed. Any speculation was fair game.
An interesting analysis for follow-up will be a comparison of whatever the eventual factual outcome of this will be as opposed to the flurry of stories over the past several weeks.
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I am constantly concerned with the degree to which we over protect our children. in the name of keeping them safe and alive we often don't let them live. I have tried to avoid the coverage of Kyron's kidnapping. the circumstances of his kidnapping from the school are so rare in Portland public schools that they are dwarfed by the number of children killed in car accidents and yet we all still drive our children in our cars. now everyone is going to be panicked about the bogeyman taking children from their school. perhaps our children shouldn't walk through our neighborhood to school anymore. lock our doors tighter. higher fences. fear strangers. forget about riding bikes out of my sight. NO! I won't buy it. this story will be overdone by 1000 times - but it should change nothing about my choices for my own children. if I let myself be bombarded that will be very difficult. so I choose otherwise for my children's sake.
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Would responsible journalism place things in perspective, supplying a factual context for risk estimates?
From what I have read, it can be really dangerous to take kids to a family physician. Just look at this story from Virginia:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/08/prsb0208.htm
Meteorite came right through the ceiling into the examining room! We are all exposed to space!
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"Meteorite came right through the ceiling into the examining room!"
I'll be darned! The sky really is falling!
Chicken Little was right!
Henh! Spread the news!
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Honestly,
I ignore most of the news coverage past the police conferences and the initial reports of who, what, where, when.
For the most part I find when the news keeps reporting on the same information over and over again I stop listening.
Thank God I don’t have cable because I can’t even imagine what the national media is doing with this.
I want facts from the media, not for them to color in the empty space.
And seriously I cannot fault a person for hiring the best attorney money could buy.
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The Most Famous Oregonians as Viewed By National Media and the other 49 States:
1. Tonya Harding: Tutu-wearing psychotic ice-skating boxing floosie.
2. Kyron Horman: 7 year old who completed a science project on Tree Frogs and is currently missing. He may surpass #1 if the tale grows more and more tawdry. (By the way, no one knew his name 1 month ago.)
3. Keiko the Whale. Made 3 hit films-- better draw than 90% of Hollywood actors.
Most Americans including Oregonians don't know who is the current Oregon Governor or either US Senator.
The other 3 million Oregonians are just lumberjacks, eco-yuppies or hippies....Plus there is Nike. Can we persuade Octo Mom to move to Boring, OR or Cave Junction?
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Here is a letter from Harry Oaks. Its sad that all he has asked for is a scent article from Kyron
This is from Harry:
Today Int. K9 SAR services http://www.k9sardog.com
put three search dogs and two dog handlers in kayaks and we searched four miles of river starting two miles west of the sauvie island bridge west and working up river east.
All 3 search dogs repeated alerted to a DEAD HUMAN SCENT IN THE WATER. As we tried to narrow the area down the wind shifted from East to west then turned to West to east. Which meant we had to turn around and research the area all over again.
For safety reasons I will NOT reveal the exact location of the alerts. Just general areas 1 mile down river and two miles down river. I have to head out of town on another HIGH PRIORITY PAID Search to go earn some money. So, I won't be available via email or phone for the next two days unless the other search gets canceled.
When I return, if Kyron hasn't been found alive or dead by the police, we'll resume our search efforts by getting into a power boat and trying to define a smaller area of interests by the search dogs so we can put divers in.
I am IN NOW WAY saying the remains the dogs are alerting on is Kyron.
Since the family refuses to give us a scent article, we have absolutely NO way of knowing who it is until we can pinpoint the source and recover who ever it is with divers. This will take time as the visibility is 5" at best underwater.
The vultures were all over the area today eatting a dead salmon on the shoreline
thanks
harry -
Freedom of the press is fraught with scenarios such as the present Kyron Horman case. In journalism, there seems to be a balancing act in the dissemination of factual and current information and poise in the spread of that information. Democracy demands we are allowed to report on any given situation in order to maintain our democratic way of life. It was originally included as a Checks and Balances concept. Systemic failures are to be expected in any form of government.
"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all of the others." -Winston Churchill
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I live in San Diego, CA. I have been following the coverage of Kyron and was wondering about the following statements:
Kaine Horman . . . "We talked about maybe going for a special treat and playing the Wii after school . . ."
and the following:
Desiree Young, & stepfather Tony Young " planned to see Kyron the evering of June 4", "He'd been asking me to take him fishing for a while"
Does this mean his father and stepfather both had plans to be with Kyron the evening he disappeared. Did the adults know about each other's planned events.
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Comments are now closed.
From 14Jun2010
There is a misplaced fear of a 'Boogie-Man', a random serial kidnapper or killer. This is further seeded in public imagination in public crime shows like 'CSI: Las Vegas', 'America's Most Wanted', TV Show 'Bones,' and a number of detective shows.
But like in most murders, by far most victims, as high as 80%, know the perpetrator--and he is a relative, spouse or romantic significant other. The random serial killer is less than 10% of all murders.
Like many children, Kyron is the product of a divorced family. And there is bound to be conflict, anguish and jealousy. To solve this mystery, don't put horse patrols and helicopters and 500 volunteers in a million dollar search in Forrest Park.
Rather interview the parents, step parents, and estranged parents. One of them is probably missing and unaccounted for. They may have headed for the border, Mexico is most convenient. They do not see themselves as kidnappers, but justified parents driven to the edge.
6Jul10--What might be the Lindbergh Kidnapping of the Century is proving to be the internal chess game of a DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY. Most keep the frying pan throwing behind closed doors. But who is going to pay for the helicopter searches, when the state is in deficit?