“Alexis Patterson has been missing since 2002. Odds are you don’t know her story.”

Research from Carol Liebler, professor of communications in the Newhouse School, was featured in the USA Today story “Alexis Patterson has been missing since 2002. Odds are you don’t know her story.” Liebler studies media coverage of missing children and women. During her latest research Liebler found that law enforcement officers are the most prominent sources in 87% of news stories about missing children. “My own thought is that police contribute to the problem by setting the news agenda through what cases they share with media,” Liebler explained. This bias can lead to a lack of proper news coverage for cases involving missing women of color.