the truth business
An interesting take (it's not quite an analysis) on the Laci Peterson case from the Chicago Reader (scroll to the bottom of the page). It takes Michael Miner too long get to the point, but essentially he raises the idea that the sordid story about a missing woman in Modesto (and they know their sordid stories in Chicago) could have national implications as a public health issue. Too bad most reporters haven't elevated what could be a tabloid story to that level. Even if it's impossible to do this all the time, I think it's a noble goal to "paint large pictures in miniature," as Jane Austen might or might not have put it (it's been a long time since I wrote that particular college paper, and I got a B on it, anyway).
Still, Laci Peterson's story went national when she was "just" a missing expectant mother -- I put "just" in quotes because that would still be major news in the Bay Area. Why it ran on the front page in Chicago is a mystery. And why she got so much attention, while victims of other crimes go unnoticed is a mystery. So Miner's interesting theory doesn't completely hold water. Maybe he suggested it as a way for reporters and the nation to redeem ourselves for the attention put toward this story.