黑料不打烊

Reporters looking for insight and research around the phenomena of 鈥渕issing white woman syndrome,鈥� please see comments from 黑料不打烊 professor of communications of the Newhouse School.

鈥淢issing white woman syndrome鈥� is a term that refers to the practice of news media focusing exclusively on the missing person cases of white women. This is not to say these cases are not newsworthy but rather that similar cases of Black, Latino and Indigenous men and women get overlooked or not given the same sort of intense coverage.

Liebler, who has studied this issue and has commented on it as early as the case, says that 鈥渕issing white woman syndrome鈥� or MWWS, is nothing new and it is time to start delving deeper into the factors that cause it.

鈥淭he news media have once again 鈥榙iscovered鈥� the MWWS following criticism of their saturation coverage of Gabby Petito.聽We should not be satisfied with this self-reflection, as it鈥檚 happened before after other similar cases,鈥� said Lielber.

鈥淭he causes for MWWS are complex and reflective of dominant ideologies of white supremacy and beauty ideals. It鈥檚 not just that Gabby Petito was white: She was young, thin, fit, blond. In other words, she fit societal definitions of beauty,鈥� said Liebler.

鈥淣ews media are extremely reliant on law enforcement in covering missing people.聽 My research shows that police, not journalists, are the real gatekeepers in determining which missing people media pay attention to,鈥� said Liebler. 鈥淩acial and misogynistic biases in police work are聽then reflected in what missing person cases are communicated to news media. Families聽are聽often shut out because news media rely on official sources.鈥�

To schedule an interview with Professor Liebler, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, director of media relations, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu or 412-496-0551.