Do you care about the Scott Peterson case?
 

Every time I turn on the cable news networks, all I hear about is this Scott Peterson case. Personally, when I watch the news I'd like to hear about what kind of progress is being made in Iraq, what's going on in Afghanistan these days, or what the Congress is working on. But Scott Peterson???? Come on... there's daytime TV talk shows and Court TV for that sort of thing.

There must be demand among the viewing public for this type of coverage, or they wouldn't be devoting so much time to it. But no one I talk to admits that they actually care about it.

So who does? and why?

In my opinion, the only reason its getting so much attention is because a near-to-term fetus was involved.

The right-wing anti-abortion agenda is having a field day because in California if you kill a fetus without the mother's consent it's called murder, but with a mother's consent it's called a choice.

You don't get this kind of coverage when they dredge up a junkie out of the East River. Someone's got an agenda to push. For God's sake Gloria Allred is involved as the lawyer for the Mistress.

Not the least bit interested.

I think people who follow these things are the type that also watch so-called "reality shows" religiously.

The more publicity this thing gets, the greater are his chances, or the victim's family's chances of selling their "story" for a high price. Then, it's a book, perhaps a TV movie. It's the American way.

Well, sort of. It's interesting to see how dumb this guy really is, by the things he's done and lied about. He can't keep his story straight. He'll get what's coming to him in time.

shows what happens when you kill someone on a slow news day...

I don't care, but I find myself watching it at times. For a few minutes anyway. Then I say "Why the hell am I watching this shit?" and I change the channell

he's a scumbag, the more I find out about him the less innocent he seems. His major mistake was avoiding the media at first, cause they turned on him like a pack of rabid dogs.

I absorb some information here and there, but I don't follow it closely.

yawn

what

o i dont care

NOoooooooooo!!!

Why is this case being made such a big deal? I don't care about that guys stupid face, make with the interesting news.

Um, actually, I don't watch "reality shows" on TV at all. And yes, I do follow what is happening with the case because, not only do I live an hour from Modesto, but I also frequent the place to see friends. I was actually playing disc golf at the Modesto Disc Golf course the day after the had the vigil there. There was a huge banner with her picture on it with a $500K reward to info, as well as a ton of melted candles and yellow ribbons on the ground. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

I think people are tuned into it because of the nature of how it went down. Yes, there is a bit of the Hollywood stigmata attached to the case so it makes for a bit of a reality show in itself. I keep tuned into the progress because I am intrigued at how such a beautiful woman, with a beautiful child on the way, and has everything going for her, is brutally murdered. It saddens me to see this in the news. I watch because I want to see that mother fucker get what's coming to him.

I just hope this doesn't turn into another case where he gets life in prison instead of the death penalty. Why do we have to continue supporting his life when he has no reason to be on this planet.

Don't care a whole hell of a lot. I figure that's what the legal system is for - to sort this stuff out.

Come to think of it though, at least the people who are interested in it are interested in something that actually happened rather than a totally made-up story.

Until recently, I had no television and saw no news. I would ask what you're all talking about, but I'm simply not interested.

Infanticide by Victim Age, 1985-2000

. Age of Victim
Year <1yr 1yr 2yrs 3yrs 4yrs Total

1985 206 127 107 75 44 558
1986 280 141 123 90 58 692
1987 261 115 111 70 49 606
1988 275 132 130 74 45 656
1989 288 140 101 78 67 674
1990 305 169 104 54 43 675
1991 354 177 137 71 47 785
1992 268 197 117 61 54 697
1993 286 214 139 87 46 770
1994 272 177 149 105 65 768
1995 270 172 133 74 65 714
1996 307 195 120 96 51 769
1997 278 159 97 67 45 645
1998 268 152 106 85 44 654
1999 260 124 113 76 39 613
2000 265 125 116 55 39 601

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicid...kidsagetab.htm

Don't care.

I catch info every now and then as I watch news for other info. I do find it intriguing and an interesting look into court that I wouldn't otherwise get (thankfully).

erion brought up an interesting point that I hadn't thought of - and I won't get into it because this is NOT Tilted Politics, but why IS the killing of a fetus murder without the mother's consent but acceptable with it? As far as I can tell, the general argument for it being acceptable is that a fetus is not a life, so in that case it should not be murder.

I have no idea who this person is. Although, I guess I really shouldn't know since I don't watch much tv.

Tabloid journalism gone out of control. That's all it is. There's no reason that we should all have it shoved down our throats day after day. Give me some real news.

I don't care about Scott Peterson, himself. I do care about the fact that this young woman and her unborn child were murdered. News programs have gotten to a point that they get on one story and drag it to its final conclusion because it pays their salary. I often wonder why one case gets so much more coverage than others just like it. Probably based on some vague poll.

Couldn't care less. I gave up on the media when they went from reporting the news to creating the news.

It's awful. I can't stand sensationalist news. I refuse to watch any news shows now...they're all just commericals for themselves.

That's certainly part of it. The other part is Laci was an attractive, very photogenic person, which plays well on TV.

The case initially captured attention because of its human interest aspect - late-term pregnancy mother goes missing on Christmas Eve? No news director in his or her right mind would pass up that story - it's guaranteed to grab viewers. It ballooned from there and took enough interesting twists that it became almost soap-opera-ish.

I don't turn up the volume when I see an update on the story, but I don't turn it down or change the channel, either. For whatever reason, I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. Peterson seems to have a pretty smart attorney and the county DA's office doesn't seem to have its act together. It could get interesting.

people murder there wives ect.. everyday.. i dont know why this one is so special that we need to hear about it for months and months

Its certainly a tragic event. I for one am tired of the media spoon feeding the public what we should care about. Who gives a damn about Scott Peterson, for that matter who cares about Robert Blake, Rush Limbaugh, or Michael Jackson. No one except the freaking media. And people wonder why Americans are so desensatized and cynical. We've got things backwards here. The media tells us what we should care about, instead of us telling them what we care about. Funny how that works.

Some of the reasons it keeps getting national attention is:
1) It happened around Christmas
2) Lacy was a pretty, wholesome, all-American pregnant girl with a handsome husband who seemingly had everything going for her.
3) Because the body was mutilated and the baby was found separated from it (horror factor)

It begs our attention because what kind of monster would kill a pregnant lady? It's not really national news, but all of the things above when combined made it so. I'm interested but not absorbed.

Couldn't be bothered with it. People are murdered everyday. Some bodies are never found.

i dont care about it