Several media personalities at liberal news outlets have expressed frustration over the Gabby Petito case receiving widespread national news coverage while cases of missing racial minorities do not get the same attention. However, as members of the media, these pundits have the opportunity to give the same amount of coverage to other cases of missing people.
A number of prominent media outlets acknowledged the importance in covering Petito's disappearance and reported murder, along with the disappearance of her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. However, they also raised questions about the disparity of media attention between Petito's case and that of missing people of color.
The Daily Beast reported that, between 2011 and 2020, 710 indigenous people had gone missing in the area where Petito had disappeared, but that none of them received the same attention from the media that Petito had gotten.
CNN reported that it is difficult for families to grab the attention of the media when their missing relative was a person of color.
MSNBC host Joy Reid said on her show that the national media's coverage of Petito's disappearance was a case of "missing white woman syndrome" and argued that missing people of color do not get the same coverage because they do not look like the female relatives of top newsroom executives.
CNN anchors Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon said this should not be an issue of prioritizing Petito or a person of color in their coverage, but rather, each person in similar circumstances should receive the same media attention.
"They say you’re only covering this because she’s white —" Cuomo said.
"A cute white girl," Lemon responded.
"— And attractive and what about the minorities that go missing? Listen, to me, it matters Gabby Petito is missing," Cuomo continued. "I mean, it just speaks to a huge fear that we all have of vulnerability. It should not be an ‘or’ proposition. It should be an ‘and’ proposition. You cover Gabby Petito and cover any other story that presents itself this way. Remember, it’s not just about her."
Lemon then said he agreed with his colleague.
Ana Navarro, co-host of "The View," argued that while she believes race was a likely factor in Petito's coverage, her case should not receive less attention. Instead, she says other cases should receive more amplified media coverage.
"Look, I’m so happy that this case is getting this much attention, a vigorous law enforcement investigation, this family needs closure, we need to know what happened to this girl," Navarro said. "No one wants to take anything away from this case, investigation. We just want there to be equity… All the Asian women, all the black women, all the Hispanic women, all the transgender women who are missing. So I don’t want there to be one less minute of coverage for Petito, I want there to be the same coverage for those women of color."
But following complaints from the liberal media about this disparity in coverage, conservatives argued that, as members of the media, these pundits could shed light on cases of missing people of color.
Joy Reid knows she can talk about missing women of color on her TV show, right?https://t.co/eGLzIi6vsM#WeveGotACountryToSave
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) September 23, 2021