News media and murderers Part 2 - 6.25.2007.2

Continued from News media and murderers Part 1 ...

Either issue is reprehensible. Neither victim deserved their fate, and the guilty should be punished. But I wonder why the media chose the Davis case to smother the airwaves. I agree that when there is the chance of finding Jessie Davis, attention is due. But the media was focused equally during that time to question Mr. Cutts. I know about every child of Mr. Cutts, his relationships, why he was fired, allegations of abuse, and allegations of improper actions as an officer of law. Right now, at 1:46, pundits on Fox News are declaring how they always knew there was guilt but had to maintain the pretense of innocence until proven guilty.

Conversely I ask, what do you know about Mr. Christopher Vaughn?
This man has allegedly killed his wife and 3 children in cold blood. He is in police custody and has been charged with 8 counts. Do you know where he lived? What he does for a living? His past? If you can’t answer those questions you have to ask why.

Both acts, I say again, are evil. I would never stick up for anyone capable of this. But I am questioning why the media picked one case over the other, which is what has been done. Why can anyone watching the news tell me more about Mr. Cutts, but can barely recall the name of Mr. Vaughn?

The differences are this, Mr. Vaughn was the father of 3 children, none toddlers. He is White, married to one wife (to my knowledge), a computer forensics advisor, that moved to the Chicago area about a year ago. Mr. Cutts I described in part above, but he has been cover enough that I don’t feel the need to repeat.

So far today I have heard Mr. Cutts compared to Mr. Scott Peterson and Mr.OJ Simpson. Mrs. E.D. Hill on Fox News spent about 3 minutes or so re-evaluating photos of Mr. Cutts, inferring that his guilt should have been apparent immediately. I’ve seen one photo of Mr. Vaughn, that could have been a mugshot, with no commentary on it.

If either of these men is guilty of the charges placed against them, I have no problem seeing them sped quickly to the hell they would deserve. But my point is not about guilt. I am speaking about the media, and the preferences they pose to the public. The ramifications go much farther than these alleged killers.

Stepping away from the emotion of the cases, you have to wonder why. I do at least.

This is what I think, what do you think?

News media and murderers - 6.25.2007.1

It’s a sad day when a pregnant mother is found dead, murdered, leaving a child without their mom. I give my condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Jessie Davis. Such things should never happen, and whomever is guilty should be punished harshly in this life and the next.

I want to make this abundantly clear, this post is not about whether Mr. Bobby Cutts Jr did anything. I, like most observers, don’t know nearly enough to know if he is guilty. I do not presume to know anything. Given that this post will address some aspects of that case, no offense is intended.


There has been a huge media surge on the case of Ms. Jessie Davis. From the first moments of reports that she was missing, the news media have been all over this case. While reporting this case several other items of news have been virtually ignored. My question is why?

It’s not an insipid question. I understand that a, then, missing pregnant woman whose birthing was imminent missing from her home and her 2 year old son being apparently abandoned is shocking. I’m glad the news was able to get enough attention that hundreds of volunteers came out to help search for her. Yet, virtually from the first announcement there was a bias in the news (at least according to the programs and information I observed).

During the last 10 days all media has focused on this case, and Mr. Cutts directly. But on June 14th a mother and 3 children were found dead in a SUV, reported at the time as a murder-suicide. Much like the Jessie Davis case, Mr. Christopher Vaughn (the husband and father) was not considered a suspect. Though he had been wounded, and reported that his wife shot him then he ran for help and then the police found the bodies of his family.

Let’s compare a few things, in the Vaughn case the media attention was large but not intense. Questions were in the air, but there was an assumption that the father’s story was true. There was no report or question I am aware of to the statements made by Mr. Vaughn. It was considered a tragedy and covered for a day and a half, then dropped. There was minor interest from the news media when the police became suspicious on the nature of the murders, and links to an episode of a popular television show (Law&Order: SVU I believe) seemed to appear. Again this was short lived and dropped. The arrest of Mr. Vaughn popped up on the national radar, but just barely registering as the overwhelming news was on the Jessie Davis case.

In terms of media time there was about 1-5 ratio at best on the coverage of the Vaughn case versus the Davis case. So far today I have noticed about 5 minutes of news on the Vaughn murders, versus 1 ½ hours (at least) on Mr. Cutts. This was over a 2 hour 45 minute time period. Roughly every 3rd item on cable news is referring in some aspect the Davis case. In comparison there has been 1 item on the Vaughn case in that same time.

Continued in Part 2...