Why was this NOT on the news?

[puntingking]

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Thankfully the boy (who is now 17 years old) is found and he is safe. He been missing for 6 years.

The british girl who went missing from Portugal, that news went global.  Still she is sadly not found. But why did we not hear about this boy disapperance until he was found.

Currently, there is a british woman missing in Norwich and that missing person case is doing the rounds on all media news channels.

 

nine-year-old Shannon Louise Matthews (born 9 September 1998) was reported missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. The search for her became a major missing person police operation which was compared to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

[globewindsailor]

It probably was on the news. Not so big a deal as the mccanns really anyway. The poor girl was taken by some stranger in the night. This boy best I can tell is taken by his mum his granddad to go live an alternative lifestyle with no mainstream school. They are the daughter and ex-husband of the gran who has legally custody. Where the father comes into this is unknown and I suspect irrelevant, but essentially how does a grandmother get custody over a mother in the first place.

Kid will be alright.

[Bloodymary]

In this case it seems it was known that he’d been taken by his mother and grandfather so different to the other cases you’ve mentioned

[David1970]

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Thankfully the boy (who is now 17 years old) is found and he is safe. He been missing for 6 years.

The british girl who went missing from Portugal, that news went global.  Still she is sadly not found. But why did we not hear about this boy disapperance until he was found.

Currently, there is a british woman missing in Norwich and that missing person case is doing the rounds on all media news channels.

 

nine-year-old Shannon Louise Matthews (born 9 September 1998) was reported missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. The search for her became a major missing person police operation which was compared to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

I don’t know, why do you think it is?

[RandomGuy99]

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Thankfully the boy (who is now 17 years old) is found and he is safe. He been missing for 6 years.

The british girl who went missing from Portugal, that news went global.  Still she is sadly not found. But why did we not hear about this boy disapperance until he was found.

Currently, there is a british woman missing in Norwich and that missing person case is doing the rounds on all media news channels.

 

nine-year-old Shannon Louise Matthews (born 9 September 1998) was reported missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. The search for her became a major missing person police operation which was compared to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

It does look like it was his grandparents that had him though, so it probably didn't get a lot of news coverage in the UK as other cases.

[David1970]

External Link/Members Only

Thankfully the boy (who is now 17 years old) is found and he is safe. He been missing for 6 years.

The british girl who went missing from Portugal, that news went global.  Still she is sadly not found. But why did we not hear about this boy disapperance until he was found.

Currently, there is a british woman missing in Norwich and that missing person case is doing the rounds on all media news channels.

 

nine-year-old Shannon Louise Matthews (born 9 September 1998) was reported missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. The search for her became a major missing person police operation which was compared to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Maybe it was because it was know that he was with members of his family and the rest no one know what happened to them.

[puntingking]

I don’t know, why do you think it is?

What others have said on this makes perfect sense and im glad that the boy is now found safe and sound.

[Spunky34]

Going back to the thread title, the examples mentioned of the Madeleine McCann case and the Shannon Matthews case should illustrate perfectly why media coverage of child disappearances isn’t always a good thing.   

If the case has become a whodunnit, like Madeleine McCann, you can absolutely see why the parents would not only choose to go public but continue to raise the case in the public consciousness even years afterwards (even after some stories and some public opinion inevitably turned against them).  On the other hand, if the police are investigating information already received and believe they are close to potentially making an arrest, any publicity could be detrimental to bringing the case to a successful conclusion. 

However, there are unintended consequences to the publicity.  It was the level of coverage of the McCann case which motivated Shannon Matthews’ mother and uncle to kidnap her with the goal of ultimately obtaining any reward money that they thought a well-publicised child disappearance story might generate. 

Ultimately it’s between the family and the police whether they will try to get the attention of the press or not.  It’s easy for people who are not involved and only find out about events many years afterwards (as certainly I am in relation to this Alex Batty story, I don’t remember this at all from 2016) to start reading all kinds of things into why one thing wasn’t reported when another was.   

[GreyDave]

   About 6 years ago I was doing a half job half Hoilday with a customer just outside a small town just out side of Rome ( helping to a fit kitchen he had got from uk )

We went in to the main town a few times and I saw stuck on lamp posts photo copy pictures with phone tags.. all of kids     I asked what they were as my Italian is beer and pizza level

He sadly explained these were "Missing" as the local police had exausted their time, parents and realatives would post these up ...some no doubt older teenagers had run away intentionally but some who knows  he said and the added some times their bodies are found after road traffic accidents and moved    .... Christ it really upset me  it made me think ..this aint on  "a place in the sun" ect
he sort of accpted thats life not in the news much there either.

Some times a jounalist might try and raise awareness of it but Politics and War news all ways prevail unless there is Celebrity Gossip 

Sadly just a few lines in the news...

[Lou2019]

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Thankfully the boy (who is now 17 years old) is found and he is safe. He been missing for 6 years.

The british girl who went missing from Portugal, that news went global.  Still she is sadly not found. But why did we not hear about this boy disapperance until he was found.

Currently, there is a british woman missing in Norwich and that missing person case is doing the rounds on all media news channels.

 

nine-year-old Shannon Louise Matthews (born 9 September 1998) was reported missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. The search for her became a major missing person police operation which was compared to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Completely different scenarios not everything will make the National news. Murders in my area never made the National news.

[petermisc]

If every missing person case made the national news, then the news would need to be several hours long.  The question is really why do a few selected cases make it.  I suspect that the McCann case had a lot to do with her being very photogenic.

[SoapyTW]

News has to be 'news worthy', and sadly these days that means attention grabbing... typically due to somebody being photogenic, or the story provoking some kind of outrage.... ideally both.

Also: External Link/Members Only

[WASA38]

The case of Alex Batty's disappearance was reported by the BBC:

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[David1970]

The case of Alex Batty's disappearance was reported by the BBC:

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This news was in the Manchester section of the BBC, the OP is based in the southeast of England I believe . If not in the London news it’s not news.