Media Coverage of Yale Grad Student Murder
One thing that I have noticed as I scan recent shootings and workplace violence cases is the disparity in coverage. Recently, there are so many reports, articles and posts about the tragedy at Yale with the murder of Annie Le that I have to wonder about all the other women and people that are killed but do not get similar attention. The question that has floated around is if the incident was a case of workplace violence. The answer is simple. It was an act of violence that occurred in the workplace. In fact, I was contacted by a reporter who asked me this question and about the rise in workplace violence. She seemed surprised when I stated that it was the opposite, the rates are actually going down. I get a similar response when I talk with me people about my work and they ask the same question. But that may not be the question that needs to be asked. I can understand that the media has to sell advertising space and stories involving violence attract more clicks through but what is it about this case that has drawn so much coverage? I think it is the same issue with the kidnapped girls. By watching the news, one would think that only beautiful, blond girls from million dollar mansions are abducted. In the same regard, Annie Le was pretty and had the affluence associated with an Ivy League school. However, at the same period when she was discovered to be murdered at the lab, a woman barely survived a brutal assault by he ex-husband at the Discover Card Financial Services building in West Valley, UT. In another case of co-worker violence, Domingo Chavez-Lopez was murdered in Taylorsville, UT after a dispute that occurred in the workplace. Why are these cases barely covered by the local media while essentially ignored on the national scale? With a visually based media format, a pretty and successful victim will get the coverage and attention. With cultural fixation on wealth, cases involving those more fortunate will be repeated in headlines and talk show segments. This is by no means a way to discredit the loss and tragedy that the Le family must be experiencing. It is a horrible event and security does need the support and resources to ensure everyone’s safety. But every case deserves the same attention to demand more awareness about the issue and to engender the same collective grief of the loss. Several times a week, I find and catalogue a new case of workplace violence. Certainly the ones that exact a large number of victims may be given more coverage but it is a disservice to only fixate on the ones that have the trappings of a soap opera- wealth and beauty. I know that university administrators are now scrambling to revise the policies, conduct training and implement security devices. I just wish that the same response would occur when any case of workplace violence arises.