TIL the local news stopped covering a specific missing persons case after just two weeks.
Back in March, a woman vanished from a park in my county. The first week, it was front page news and every channel had updates. By the third week, the coverage just stopped, like someone flipped a switch. No follow-up, no closure, nothing. Makes you wonder who decides what stories get buried. Has anyone else seen a local story get memory-holed like that?
A reporter friend told me their station has a formula for missing persons coverage. It heavily weighs age, location, and perceived risk. Once the initial window closes and tips dry up, they just move on to the next thing.
Isn't that just the news cycle in a nutshell? They treat people like content to be managed, not stories that matter. What happens to the families when the cameras leave?
My local paper had 14 missing person reports last month and only covered two of them. It's the same with everything now, like we're just checking boxes.