Where's Amir? Missing Boy's Case Gets Scant Notice

A long-held criticism of the media is that stories about missing white kids get big play in contrast to those about missing minority kids. The case of 18-month Amir Jennings, an African-American from South Carolina, is the latest case in point. He hasn't been seen since November, and his mother has told so many blatant lies about his disappearance that she got sentenced to 10 years in prison yesterday for unlawful conduct. And yet, despite the pleas of detectives, Amir's case has generated relatively little national attention, notes AP.

It doesn't help that the investigation has yielded no major breakthroughs, but, still, the contrast with the obvious comparison of Caylee Anthony's coverage is striking. "Media has always leaned toward the cute little kids," says Monica Caison of the CUE Center for Missing Persons. "And unfortunately, a lot of times they think cute little kids are white." (More Zinah Jennings stories.)