Haleigh Cummings Update 6 March

The day everyone said goodbye to Caylee Marie Anthony, the world learned about another missing little girl.

So TV trucks rolled from the 2-year-old's memorial in Orlando to a double-wide trailer about 80 miles away in Putnam County — the place where 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings was last seen alive.

"It was deja vu all over again," said Bob Longo, news director for WESH-Channel 2.

During the following days, the pack of satellite trucks parked near Haleigh Cummings' home in tiny Satsuma rivaled the media turnout after Caylee's remains were found in December near her home in east Orange County.

But soon, reporters on the latest missing-little-girl story began leaving Satsuma.

It wasn't deja vu after all.

Haleigh's story is fading after three weeks, but the Anthony saga has remained in the headlines for almost eight months.

The contrast between the tents and trailer in Satsuma where Haleigh's family pleaded for her return and the Anthonys' suburban home points to one of the reasons Haleigh's story is fading from the headlines, said Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at the Poynter Institute.

"I think the greatest difference between the Caylee story and the Haleigh story is social class," said Clark, whose institute is a school for journalists in St. Petersburg. "I don't believe that working-class Americans get a very fair shake in the news media in general."

Only a handful of reporters remain in this isolated community north of the Ocala National Forest — even though investigators said Haleigh was abducted and they think she is alive.

Expect more coverage in the months leading up to October's trial for Caylee's 22-year-old mother, Casey Anthony, who is accused of killing her daughter.

"Any missing child is a tragedy and a cause for great alarm and concern," said Bob Jordan, news director for WFTV-Channel 9. "Every one of those kids is news, but that does not translate into equal news interest."

Strange twists stand out
The Anthony case has all the elements and more of the kind of stories guaranteed to draw an audience: sex, crime and general interest, said Paul Lachelier, an assistant professor of sociology at Stetson University.

Photos of a scantily clad Casey Anthony, reports about her romantic life and the stories she told about a nanny who abducted her daughter — a story investigators don't believe — are drawing readers.

So are other details, including the serious charges against the young mother, frequent courtroom battles and the behavior of her parents, George and Cindy Anthony.

The photos and videos of Caylee also captivate viewers.

The case also has provided bizarre twists and turns, beginning when Casey Anthony was arrested after claiming Caylee had been missing for 30days.

"When she was questioned about that, her effect was so flat and unemotional that it called our human experience into question," veteran Orlando defense attorney Cheney Mason said.

Then, Mason said, a "circus" ensued: California bounty hunter Leonard Padilla injected himself into the situation. Casey Anthony was in and out of jail. Protesters routinely amassed outside the Anthony home demanding justice.

"There is constant fuel for the fire," Mason said.

The Haleigh case hasn't offered as many twists and turns. News crews scrambled recently after cadaver dogs hit on a scent in a dumpster. But the container was searched and nothing was found.

Most media coverage of Haleigh's disappearance has revolved around her family's pleas for her safe return.

Fewer leaks, less to say
Law enforcement has released little information about its investigation into Haleigh's disappearance, unlike the Caylee case, which was marked by frequent news conferences and leaks from insiders.

"The return of Haleigh is the most important thing, but we also have a crime involved somewhere with her disappearance," Capt. Dick Schauland of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said.

"We're trying not to jeopardize the criminal investigation or possible future prosecution."

For Orlando media, coverage also has been hampered because Satsuma is far away — a two-hour drive for some — and because Putnam County isn't considered part of its market.

Jordan, WFTV's news director, and Steve Hyvonen, news director for WKMG-Channel 6, had different opinions about the Anthony case: Hyvonen said that the story continues to generate strong ratings and that WKMG viewers are clamoring for more coverage, while Jordan said his station is no longer seeing the rating spikes that occurred early on in the case, and that he thinks viewers might be getting sick of the story.

The directors said their stations have received little viewer feedback about the Haleigh story.

"We have been up there just because it's such a significant story," Hyvonen said.

"But as each day goes by without a new development, it get a little lower as far as where it plays in the newscast."

I pointed out early in the hunt for Caylee that if she hadn't been white and middle class that people wouldn't be so concerned. Being poor and white in this country is a like being a kind of minority; white middle class America wants you to stay out of sight and out of mind.

Don't give up the search for Haleigh just because her family isn't something off a television sitcom.

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