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Regarding Gabby Petito
Townhall.com ^ | September 24, 2021 | Erick Erickson

Posted on 09/24/2021 5:42:17 AM PDT by Kaslin


Source: Instagram

Twenty-two-year-old Gabby Petito is dead. Authorities found her body in Wyoming. Her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, returned home to Florida after Petito went missing on their cross-country excursion through national parks. Laundrie subsequently walked off into a wilderness preserve, presumably to flee from authorities who now wish to question him.

The story broke a week ago. It sailed past me until my 16-year-old daughter asked what I thought about it. I had no idea what she was talking about. My wife, the next day, came home from the gym and asked about it. A 20-something young woman at her gym was talking about it. None of the women over 30 had heard about it.

The media swooped in, and the story took on new life. A few days ago, the professional progressive talking points regurgitator at MSNBC, Joy Reid, blasted the media for covering Petito only because she is a young, blonde, white girl. Reid noted that plenty of nonwhite women go missing but the media ignores them. Last time I checked, Reid has a show on MSNBC named after herself, and she, a member of the media, has also chosen to ignore all those stories.

Petito is dead. Her boyfriend has fled. Her parents are grieving. Professional race-baiters have hijacked her memory to turn her into a racial talking point. There are a few things worth noting even for those who have paid no attention.

Joy Reid's complaint holds a kernel of truth. Petito was an attractive young woman with a large following on social media. The media is obsessed with ratings. In particular, the media is obsessed with "the demo," or media consumers ages 25 to 54. Specifically, media advertisers believe if a 25- to 35-year-old can be converted into a consumer of particular media or products, they'll retain brand loyalty for decades.

The media covers Petito's death hoping to convert some of her hundreds of thousands of followers into brand-loyal news consumers whom advertisers want to reach. Beyond those hundreds of thousands of followers, there are millions more mostly young women who have become obsessed with true-crime podcasts and stories. The humor site, The Babylon Bee, recently ran a story capturing this phenomenon. The headline was, "Guy Being Murdered Just Glad He'll Finally Be On a Podcast." "It was while the ax was dropping into his spleen that Tony Marcus realized a lifelong dream was coming true. He had been a fan of true crime podcasts for years but never dreamed he would get to be on one. Now, totally unexpectedly, it was happening," their story began.

The media wants viewers. A young, blonde 22-year-old female social media influencer left dead in the forests of Wyoming, presumably killed by her now-on the run boyfriend will get ratings. It might convert young news consumers into longtime news consumers. The media has a business interest in caring about Gabby Petito.

There is another angle to this as well. Petito was a social media influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers. She died tragically. In a small bit of irony, the location of her murder was discovered by another YouTuber who was editing video of a trip. He happened to have passed what looked like Petito and Laundrie's van in the woods in Wyoming. He relayed the location to police who were able to find Petito's body nearby.

In the postmodern era, people are more emotional and relational. People who did not know Petito feel like they knew her. They connected to her online. They are grieving. The larger cultural story here is how so many could care about and relate to someone they do not know and become invested in her life. That is happening more and more, and those same people will keep bypassing the media organizations in favor of the relatable individuals they find on social media and follow online and off. The emotional and relational connection to individuals now transcends organizational brand. People are connecting to people, not brands, and one of those people is now tragically dead.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: gabbypetito; joyreid; lookasquirrel; socialmedia; wasteofbandwidth; youtube
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1 posted on 09/24/2021 5:42:17 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

“Regarding Gabby Petito. Gabby Petito is dead.”

roll credits


2 posted on 09/24/2021 5:46:49 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire. Or both.)
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To: Kaslin

So, Joy Reid is only concerned about the black brand?


3 posted on 09/24/2021 5:50:23 AM PDT by nonsporting (Tyranni delendi sunt )
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To: Kaslin

“Joy Reid’s complaint holds a kernel of truth.”

I am not surprised that this idiot never Trumper could find wisdom in what Joy Reid said.

There is just enough cohesion in this nation that makes us think we are a family and that one of its innocent members has suffered a needless tragedy.

That is the same sentiment that makes the news magazines 48 Hours and Dateline long running series on television.


4 posted on 09/24/2021 5:52:50 AM PDT by odawg
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To: nonsporting

“So, Joy Reid is only concerned about the black brand?”
She isn’t even concerned about that. Blacks dying like flies in Chicago have NEVER elicited so much as a grunt from her.
In truth, these celebrities don’t care about anything other than themselves. They just look for something that it would be trendy to gripe about. Then, they quickly turn their critical gaze in another direction and move on to a new topic. Shallow and hollow.


5 posted on 09/24/2021 5:55:59 AM PDT by ArtDodger
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To: Kaslin

Dumb ass Erickson thinks this is about MSM trying to capture new viewers, like they really care about how many viewers they have. This is about distraction, nothing more. Look! A suirrel!

Joy Reid is only partially right. Her context is all wrong, and her conclusion is racist as usual. She only understands that it is a distraction, but doesn’t comprehend the Why.


6 posted on 09/24/2021 5:59:10 AM PDT by KobraKai
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To: Kaslin

I remember an afternoon ‘made for tv’ movie geared to young people.......and starring Candace Cameron Bure as the naive teen attracted to a boy at school who ends up abusing her, but her self esteem is so low, she continues to see him.

Friends try to warn her.

She covers her bruises and protects him
In the end, he kills her


7 posted on 09/24/2021 5:59:52 AM PDT by Guenevere (When the foundations are being destroyed what can the righteous do t)
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To: Guenevere

Just realized this is from Eric Erickson......( spit)


8 posted on 09/24/2021 6:01:43 AM PDT by Guenevere (When the foundations are being destroyed what can the righteous do t)
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To: Kaslin
The media wants viewers.

Erick Erickson is the adamant anti-Trump lawyer-turned-talking-head who should know that “media” is pleural. It should be “The media want.”

Other than that, he says nothing that is worthy of note.

9 posted on 09/24/2021 6:01:43 AM PDT by NautiNurse (Puddin' Head Joe--We are checking our watches for the end of your miserable White House tenure.)
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To: Kaslin

The story was national news to distract the public off of the abominable situation at the border, rising inflation, shortages of food on store shelves and Biden’s disastrous policies.


10 posted on 09/24/2021 6:04:46 AM PDT by Bon of Babble (Rigged Elections have Consequences)
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To: Kaslin
There is another angle to this as well. Petito was a social media influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers.

I was wondering about how a couple of young 20 somethings could afford to take the summer off and travel. Now I have a partial answer.

11 posted on 09/24/2021 6:13:26 AM PDT by EVO X ( )
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To: Kaslin

My take on the Petito mirder is this = a selfish and volatile young man kills a woman he supposedly loves, and then drives across country in her vehicle, He sits around doing nothing while she lies dead in the wildernessm and does not call her parents and spends her money.

It is the circumstances of his behavior which is causing the interest in this idiot and selfish monster, not her blonde hair.


12 posted on 09/24/2021 6:14:22 AM PDT by Gumdrop (Prpmotiong)
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To: Kaslin

“The media has a business interest in caring about Gabby Petito.”

Makes perfect sense. They have a ‘business interest’ in the destruction of America too, for some reason. Not quite sure how that’s going to benefit them OR their ‘market’ in the end, though. :(


13 posted on 09/24/2021 6:14:49 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Kaslin

My take on the Petito mirder is this = a selfish and volatile young man kills a woman he supposedly loves, and then drives across country in her vehicle, He sits around doing nothing while she lies dead in the wildernessm and does not call her parents and spends her money.

It is the circumstances of his behavior which is causing the interest in this idiot and selfish monster, not her blonde hair.


14 posted on 09/24/2021 6:14:54 AM PDT by Gumdrop (Prpmotiong)
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To: ArtDodger
She isn’t even concerned about that. Blacks dying like flies in Chicago have NEVER elicited so much as a grunt from her.

On the contrary, blacks-killing-blacks would detract from the black brand, thus it is is not reported. But dissing a dead white girl in her twisted, debased mind does promote the black brand.

15 posted on 09/24/2021 6:17:36 AM PDT by nonsporting (Tyranni delendi sunt )
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To: nonsporting

Whenever Joy Reid talks I think of Lou Reed’s “Take A Walk on the Wild Side “: Do da do da do do-da-do do-do-do da do Do- do do do- da- do do do do do do.

(Gee did I “do “ that right?)


16 posted on 09/24/2021 6:18:25 AM PDT by Sir_Humphrey ( I wiIl not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own!)
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To: Bon of Babble

No, it isn’t.

People are generally interested in this sort of thing. They just are.

I can’t fathom the interest, but it is real and palpable.

The media doesn’t have to force interest. These stories are always followed with interest. Natalie Hollaway, Chandra Leavy, Scott Peterson, Casey Anthony, the Menendez brothers, OJ Simpson, the list is long.

Like you say, there are other more important things to hear about, but the DNCMedia won’t cover the ones that make democrats look bad, whether some pretty girl was killed or not.


17 posted on 09/24/2021 6:18:44 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (Rush, we're missing your take on all of this!)
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To: Alas Babylon!

Thus the oft quoted....’If it bleeds, it leads’


18 posted on 09/24/2021 6:23:31 AM PDT by Guenevere (When the foundations are being destroyed what can the righteous do t)
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To: Gumdrop

Monsters are real and live among us looking like regular people.

Evil exists. Young white women, in my mind, are the least discerning of that fact. Little spatial awareness, (Great Outdoors! Safe in Nature! Look at me! Look at what i had for dinner!). The cliche about clueless blondes is only because it’s true.

RIP another ‘free spirit’. Her parents failed to give her survival skills.


19 posted on 09/24/2021 6:26:56 AM PDT by drSteve78 (Je suis Deplorable. STILL)
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To: Gumdrop
It is the circumstances of his behavior which is causing the interest in this idiot and selfish monster, not her blonde hair.

I'd say it is a little of both. I first clicked on the story because Gabby in the picture looked extremely wholesome and attractive. But you are right that it is the behavior of the "fiancé" which kept the story going. When the story first broke, we knew she was missing and then we find out the boyfriend had returned home to his parents without her and never said a word about where she was, not even to the parents of the girl he was allegedly engaged to. At that point the story was a bit out of the ordinary.

20 posted on 09/24/2021 6:27:33 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte (11/3-11/4/2020 - The USA became a banana republic.)
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