Many Floridian Children Are Missing Why the Media Fascination of Caylee Anthony's Case

It is a strange phenomenon when the media latches on to a certain missing child case and so many other Floridians are also missing. There are odd circumstances surrounding this case because of Cassee Anthony's delay in reporting Caylee missing. However, it is a missing child case all the same.

The National Center for Missing or Exploited Children reports approximately 250 Floridian children missing in the last 1-2 years. These include:

A 3 year old Miami child missing since 3/2007

A 3 year old Hollywood toddler missing this year 1/30/2008

A newborn missing since 12/2006 from Fort Myers

It is only fair that these families receive the same media attention as Caylee and Cassee Anthony's case. I hope all the children are found safe and sound but wonder who dictates which children will remain in the media longer than others will.

When I visit Wal Mart, I look at the missing children board, which is posted in an area that is not frequented as much. At least it is posted. Some of these families cannot afford to buy posters to distribute, don't have dependable transportation, or financial support as others to offer and increase rewards or post billboards. The media should develop some type of bulletin for these children and post them as long as "sensational cases" are posted.

Is this a case of exploitation by different media outlets? Is it believed to be a so-called "sensational case" that will boost ratings? Even when there is nothing new to report, the media recaps the latest information with just a small amount of new info. It is really tiring the manner in which information is reported. Why not wait an hour, minute or day to have something new to report. However, just to report that investigators have revisited the grandparent's house, as "breaking news" is ridiculous.

I often wonder who decides if Caylee and Cassee Anthony's case is more important than the other children and what is the opinion of these other parents. We know that if we put a child's face out in the public eye, it should jog someone's memory.

This same thing occurred with Trenton Duckett whose photo was constantly seen in the media. There was so much media hype that his mother committed suicide; the media tried to blame one person but they all played a part in finding her guilty before she had the opportunity to prove her innocence.

In a way, Cassee Anthony (Caylee's mom) has already been indicted, convicted, and found guilty of a crime and has yet to receive her sentence by the media. She is a viable suspect, is there anything new to report? My problem is the media attention afforded some but not others.

Cassee Anthony is a parent who was not interested in finding her child or reporting her as missing when she claimed Caylee went missing. There are other parents anxiously awaiting any kind of news on their missing child, who are not mentioned again by the media. It must be heart breaking not to see their child's picture as long as we have seen the pictures of Caylee and Cassee Anthony.

Everyone should have equal representation of their missing child reported by the media. There is always a story behind each missing child when found but apparently, the story of Caylee's disappearance is more sensational.

I hope for the best outcome for all the Florida missing children.