How the media repeated the “missing white woman syndrome” in the Petito case

“White victims tend to be portrayed as being in very safe environments, so it’s shocking that something like this can happen, while black and Latino victims are portrayed as being in dangerous environments, thus essentially normalizing the victimization, ”she said.

Ms Slakoff added that there were a number of reasons people were interested in Ms Petito’s case. The road trip was documented by Ms Petito on social media, offering a glimpse into her life. People wanted to feel like they were part of the story by helping to resolve his disappearance and connecting with others by following what was going on and exchanging information. But the amount of coverage threatened to turn the deal into “entertainment,” she added.

“I don’t think we can ignore the motive for profit and the fact that historically these types of stories have garnered tons of engagement, viewers and clicks,” Ms. Slakoff said. “So I think you could argue that it’s kind of a vicious cycle.”

Stewart Coles, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Communications at the University of Illinois, said public interest in Ms Petito’s case had helped boost media coverage, but had not taken into account the totality of it.

“We have to consider how sometimes the choices about which stories to read and what we know are based on what gatekeepers in the media industry think people want to know,” he said. “And if these people think people are more interested in a missing white woman, they’re going to give us information about the missing white women.”

On Twitter last Thursday, Hakeem Jefferson, assistant professor of political science at Stanford University, criticized a Washington Post article describing Ms. Petito as a “blonde, blue-eyed adventure seeker.” He noted that these details were irrelevant to the story and “needlessly tell about the missing person from the jump.”

“Journalists should be more careful in their coverage of these cases lest they perpetuate an already uneven visibility landscape for victims who do not fit the mold,” Jefferson said in an interview.