Posted on 01/24/2007 8:24:19 AM PST by Halls
CHESTERFIELD, Mo. - Shawn Hornbeck's parents hope "to step out of the spotlight" to focus on their abducted son's healing now that he has returned home.
That plan to take a lower profile was announced Tuesday during a news conference, as a suburban St. Louis homebuilder detailed plans to build a new house for Shawn and his parents, Craig and Pam Akers. The home will include office space for the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation, which Shawn's parents began as a means to aid in the search for missing kids soon after Shawn disappeared in 2002.
(Excerpt) Read more at belleville.com ...
I am not lying and I'd appreciate a response that doesn't require the word as a basis to support your point of view. I sure did say "non-stop." It seemed that way through most of last week. At one point, they were on two news shows in a row. There was also the Oprah thing. And for the days on either side of the multiple appearances they also went on Larry King and a couple of other news shows. They were on in the morning, in the afternoon and evening. I saw them.
You are not being honest about modern media. Modern media discussing a topic over and over, calling up those affected, non-stop, to ask questions, standing outside your house to take a picture is not the fault of the person being hounded.
And the way to fix this, to stop this, is to.... appear on as many news shows as possible? Also: The fact that I disagree with you does not make me "dishonest."
It is people like you that place the fault of reacting to the media requests on the people instead of the pestering media that is a shame.
"Liar," "people like you," "the pestering media." I just disagree with you. I don't think the way to get the "pestering media" to leave you alone is to grant multiple interviews.
no, I'm simply saying that Shawn's parents left it up to Shawn as to go on Oprah or not. not justifying it one bit.
But quite frankly, who cares if the parents took him in Oprah or not! Big deal! So many want to bash the family for this. Pathetic. The one who deserves the negative comments is the perp who kidnapped Shawn and ben!
I could scroll back a piece but I believe ican'tbelieveit waited a couple of posts before resorting to that. That was your first comment to me.
People are forgetting who the bad guy is in this. It's pathetic.
Look, being genuinely honest about disagreeing with their approach is one thing. Coming out and accusatorily saying they are doing it for money and fame is a whole different thing.
I really can see how the pestering media could cause them to react in this way. I have to preface this with the fact I would not seek out the media attention, avoiding it at all costs.
But, they may very well have had advice to approach it this way. I don't know about the multiple appearances you are referencing. I know they went on Oprah (I didn't and wouldn't have watched it, that is how I send a message I don't want this media coverage) and Larry King. They did an immediate news conference the day after the boys were found. That was replayed non-stop.
But you cannot deny the media hounding them. The media places calls to arrange for people to answer questions on their shows and book guests. And given the amount of media in the modern world, I would not want to be in that situation.
And attendance is mandatory, right?
I wasn't "accusing" the parents of shooting for a book deal and a TV movie. I was saying that's what I think they'll do. It's my cynical opinion and nothing else. In fact, I'll be surprised if it doesn't happen. Personally, I'd be getting reacquainted with my son I haven't seen in four years and trying to get him some help before putting him on television. A good therapist might not think that wise.
I don't know about the multiple appearances you are referencing.
That's fine. Just thank you for not calling me a liar... again.
I think you are overexaggerating and that is what I am taking offense to. Your "writing" made it sound like they were on TV non-stop, which is not true. They agreed to a few high profile media outings. And I think they did this to get the phone to stop ringing and to get the cameras and microphones out of their faces.
I really can't fault them for taking this approach.
There will definitely be a movie and book deal. Again, there are people lined up for the opportunity to bring this to the population. And there will be a LOT of money involved. The parents are going to have to make the best decision as they see fit to address that and move on. I may not choose to do what they do, but it is inevitable to the society we live in today.
And whoever publishes the book and the movie is doing this out of a pure capitalistic approach. They want to make money.
If you want to discuss the alleged kidnapper, that has already been posted, do a search.
Are you a cop?
where do you get this "stood up for him" attitude?.....no one is standing up for "him" because probably nobody here knows him nor his family...
what people stand up for though is a VICTIM, and by any cut of the cake, Shawn H. is a victim...he was only 11 yrs old....
as far as for the parents, they don't impress me as wealthly, and as I have understood it, they have used retirement money to make ends meet........
Well... like it or not, I am not "overexaggerating." Now the "non-stop" part was also replays but, aside from Larry King, Oprah and the press conference (where they paraded Shawn before having the time to assess his mental state) they were on in the morning on the network news shows and on in the afternoon and evening on the cable news shows. All of these appearances and the replays into the night made for "non-stop" quite nicely. Whomever "advised" them that this is the correct approach is either an arse or a publicist.
Cash Call for the Hornbecks.
"Now the "non-stop" part was also replays but"
This is the point I am making. They weren't responsible for the replays that gave the appearance of being non-stop. That is the media. And guess what, the people who watched it. I didn't watch any of them after the initial press conference.
And it is definitely a public relations person that is directing them through this media nightmare. And it is from past dealings with the media in these types of situations that these decisions are made.
I am with you, I personally would not take this route, but I can see why they did.
Irresponsible? You think what the parents did was Ireesponsible? LMAO! Ok, the perp kidnapped Shawn, held him from four years for his own selfish desires, kept him from getting an education, out of school, threatened him, terrified him, abused him and you want to call what Shawn's parents did by letting him go on Oprah irresponsible?
That's it! Call CPS and report them and take that Shawn away from his parents! They are terrible and should have no rights to him!(SARCASM)
Why don't you back off Shawn's family and realize your nasty remarks about them only hurt them!
They ought to hold out for the Escalade and the Caribbean Cruise.
I agree. I disagree that being on enough shows to make it appear "non-stop" is not the way to get the media to leave you alone.
That would be great wouldn't it? I hope they do just as you suggest.
What do you do though? If you have to make a choice of trying to reach the broadest audience possible so you can go home & rebuild your life, or immediately start rebuilding your life only to have the media camped out on your front lawn?
I can guarantee that if they didn't speak out and present as positive an image as they could early on, they would be accused of trying to hide something.
Elizabeth Smart comes to mind. People are still convinced that she had a baby, despite all of the evidence to the contrary. And people still think she chose to stay despite the evidence of her torture.
And everytime one of these cases comes up, her dad & the Klaas character are on tv non-stop (because the media calls them to answer questions about the current situation). I personally find the Klaas character odd, but he is doing what he thinks is best for other children and families.
I hadn't heard about the baby thing. That abduction was a bit higher profile and more intense. I don't know. Aren't these people ordinary except for the few months or years? Afterward, they go back to their lives and the media goes away. What does it matter what other people think? The only two things being on all the shows could have been about is either a). Overexpose ourselves so the media gets tired and looks for a new story or b). Best book and TV deal.
How dare you bash Mark Klaas, who has done more for missing children than the Akers/Hornbecks have ever done.
Or Ed Smart, who was intelligent enough to sequester his daughter for a year after she was returned to him. What people think she had a baby? Backwoods hillbillies like you and your Akers friends?
You are hilarious. (at least I think you were being sarcastic).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.