Daily Archives: January 15, 2019

Weekly Blog – Successful Escape Was Not The End Of This Story

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The New York Times published the article “Days of Plotting To Kidnap a Girls Seen by Chance” (Online Version Link) on their newspaper on Jan. 15, 2019, which was reported by Matt Furber and Mitch Smith. In this news story, my client is Jayme Closs who is a 13-year-old girl at middle school in Barron, Wisconsin. She was kidnapped by Jake Patterson on Oct. 15 and escaped successfully last Thursday. According to Furber and Smith, Mr. Patterson planned and prepared for this kidnapping before he actually did it, and he was arrested and confessed what he had done to Jayme’s family. After Jayme escaped, she was cared by her family members because both of her parents were killed by Jake Patterson. Due to this kidnapping, parents of Barron have increased concern about their children’s safety.

(this picture was taken from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/us/jayme-closs-updates-jake-patterson.html)

From my perspective, this news coverage had a neutral but sad voice because to the public, it was a good news that Jayme escaped successfully from Jake Patterson, but she lost her parents. Meanwhile, this incident exposed the risk of children’s safety that most parents worried about. After this news story was published through news websites and newspapers, parents of not only Barron, but also the entire country, are most impacted because it was such a severe circumstance for children, and nobody would want this happen again. Jayme Closs was concerned by the public after her experience was published. In my opinion, as a PR folk, I should update the current situation of my client, Jayme Closs, and present as her spokesman to the public to protect her from any other disruptive interviews when she needs rest and careful mental treatment. Also, there is a need of appeal for action to protect children’s safety and prevent kidnapping from happening again.

I think this story was generated by media driven because it provided detailed information about this kidnapping and the current situation of the kidnapper Jake Patterson and the victim Jayme Closs. The reporters didn’t address any specific circumstance related to this news by purpose but kept neutral voice and presented the story to the public.