Although no immediate danger was ever really present, the families of the "estranged" travelers were very concerned. Garrets's sister Alena Hand explained that both of them were constantly communicating via Facebook, internet, etc. and were curious when all of a sudden everything seemed to have stopped. Eventually they settled the whole ordeal with a telephone call through the Peruvian Department of Tourism Security. The young couple didn't even know about the effort, and were said to have been, "surprised to hear that their family and friends were in search of them" (along with all the different types of media surrounding their disappearance).
The proximity of this news story was almost immediately the reason I was drawn to it, and it also had a bizarre twist. Before their "Houdini" act was revealed, the media surrounded the two with a lot of coverage (which in turn, helped the two to eventually be found). The mystery around the story made it very news worthy and for local media it was a "no brainer" but essentially the two were never in any harm. Looking at that situation very objectively, one can say it was a bunch of wasted news time that might have been put to better use.
But in contrast, this story also had a lot of potential to be related to a wide variety of publics, allowing the different media companies to draw in the attention from thousands of people. In this case the media helped a family find and communicate with two people, hundreds of miles away.
Great take on this role of the media, Max. You identify the pathos and human interest that drove the story -- and a positive role the media played. How did those early explorers make it without Facebook?
ReplyDeleteHi Max,
ReplyDeleteInteresting how Facebook played a important role in finding the couple. I can see why this can be a big news story. First a young decent looking couple left for a bike tour and did not return back. We as humans want to know what happened and why. Immediately we can relate to the couple and now the media will give more importance to the couple. Why? Because the viewers want to know.
Hi Max,
ReplyDeleteI too find it interesting that this story made such headlines. I feel as if there wasn't that much information to go off of that they were truly missing. I compare this story to past ones that are indeed missing peoples and this one just seems odd to me. However, because it is a Sacramento couple and they were in another country I can see the appeal this would have on an audience. Its proximity is our backyard and the thought of getting lost, kidnapped, stolen, etc in another country is a valid scare to many Americans.