Hudy: Why was Le global news?

Also, Yale resides in the NYC metro area media market as well as bearing a proximity to Boston/Providence/Hartford.

Plus, tons of Ivy Leaguers are in newsmedia.

The Ivies always get steady media attention.

Any headline will definitely displace another headline that could have been there had the one that appeared not appeared. This case is definitely sad because she was bright, young, about to be married, and then murdered by some crazy guy who works with her in a secured place. THAT is worthy of our sympathy and attention to change what we can to prevent other such events from happening.

Like many stories which avalanche in our media driven culture, the reporting on Annie Le’s murder may have less to do with where she went to school and more to do with symbolism.

Annie Le, daughter of immigrants, driven, with the transient attractiveness of youth, in a single generation showed the story of the American Dream, rags-to-riches, was alive and well even today. She represented the very best of America and of humanity. She was likely to be a member of that less than 1% of humanity which contributes to society, who was to leave the world a measurably better place than when she entered. She was on an ascendant trajectory in both her professional and private lives.

Her accused murderer, someone doubtless with opportunities equal to Ms. Le’s, nevertheless achieved nothing special in his life. He is part of the 99% which contribute little. Indeed, he is part of that 1% which will leave the world a worse place as he passes through.

And Annie Le’s death over what is purported to be unclean mouse cages represents an example of chaos, senselessness, evil – for lack of a better word – triumphing over good.

This story has left me quite melancholy. I feel for the victim, her fiance, and her family. So bitter it must be to be preceded in death by a child. My heart goes out to them.

Like many stories which avalanche in our media driven culture, the reporting on Annie Le’s murder may have less to do with where she went to school and more to do with symbolism.

Annie Le, daughter of immigrants, driven, with the transient attractiveness of youth, in a single generation showed the story of the American Dream, rags-to-riches, was alive and well even today. She represented the very best of America and of humanity. She was likely to be a member of that less than 1% of humanity which contributes to society, who was to leave the world a measurably better place than when she entered. She was on an ascendant trajectory in both her professional and private lives.

Her accused murderer, someone doubtless with opportunities equal to Ms. Le’s, nevertheless achieved nothing special in his life. He is part of the 99% which contribute little. Indeed, he is part of that 1% which will leave the world a worse place as he passes through.

And Annie Le’s death over what is purported to be unclean mouse cages represents an example of chaos, senselessness, evil – for lack of a better word – triumphing over good.

This story has left me quite melancholy. I feel for the victim, her fiance, and her family. So bitter it must be to be preceded in death by a child. My heart goes out to them.

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Well said and I completely agree. This case was a perfect combination of what makes a story grab the public’s attention. But a huge part of its appeal was not Yale alone, but Annie herself. She was ultimate tragic victim, by all accounts an incredible woman, and thinking about this case still cause me to choke up and pause whatever I’m doing, and I didn’t even know her personally. The amazing person that Annie was is what is driving this case, and the environment in which it took place, the mystery surrounding it, the violence of it, the villain in Ray Clark ( alleged), all contribute to blast this story into the stratosphere of media attention and the world’s consciousness. Annie’s whole life was extraordinary, full of incredible achievements, why would her death have been any different. I cant frankly think of anyone more deserving of the attention then Annie, and certainly we have all seen much less deserving individuals grab the limelight. As the world mourns with the Le family, let that be one some small consolation for the unfairness of one story dominating another in our collective consciousness.

I too wish that we lived in a color-blind world… but the truth is, the cases of missing [usually] white women get much more attention. “Missing white woman syndrome” is so pervasive that it even has its own Wikipedia entry and Onion parody. Can you name a prominent case where a black woman went missing? Didn’t think so… and I am frankly surprised that the Annie Le case received as much attention from the media as it did. The compelling factors of photogenic face, Yale name, “CSI”-friendly angle (secured building, apparent lack of motive added suspense and mystery) and imminent wedding were enough to boost the case into the national consciousness for the likes of Rupert Murdoch et al.
Rest in peace, Annie Le.

99 percent of the world leaves the world a worse place?

I think the whole point is that there are hundreds of people who are murdered every day that have the same hopes of making those around them happier and in doing so, they also change the world in ways that are too complex to be reported by the news. Annie probably contributed the most to the world by doing the same.

All in all, its pretty obvious that Annie’s murder would not have been international news if she didn’t go to Yale. Its a good reminder of inequity across the world.

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Lets remember that Annie did not earn her place at Yale because she was a rich girl growing up in east coast prep schools, she earned her spot purely through achievement. She grew up in a small town in California, from a modest, middle class family. Her ability to excel was based on her massive talent and hard work alone. If there is inequality from going to a University like Yale in our public consciousness, at least it was not unfairly bestowed in Annie’s case. she earned it. What could be more equal then that.

i think you are confusing socioeconomic status with race (which could be perceived as racial stereotyping?). A black female Yale student gone missing would probably receive as much media attention as an Asian female Yale student or a white female Yale student: A Lot of Coverage. A black female gone missing in the 16th district in the Bronx is probably going to get as much media attention as a white female in the same circumstances: None.

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fair enough, but I would also argue that a murder at Yale is a bigger story then one set in a poor crime ridden area. Part of why the media doesnt pay attention to crime in these areas is because its perceived as commonplace. That means the public tunes out. A murder at a school like Yale is unusual and people pay attention. Its a story. The murder of a congressman would garner more attention then the murder of a a middle manager from the Target corporation. It would be impossible to cover every story equally, and do we really want to? I still stand by the fact that Annie herself caught the public’s interest even more then the name Yale. Yale got the story off the ground, but Annie’s story kept it flying high.