This month’s issue of Philadelphia magazine contains an ill-begotten screed by Noel Weyrich that slanders my friend and fellow Philly blogger Richard Cranium. Weyrich accuses Richard of race-baiting and using the Latoyia Figueroa case to garner publicity for himself and for his blog:

As Richard points out in his incisive rebuttal, every one of Weyrich’s points is dead wrong:

To suggest that those of us who promoted Latoyia’s case did so for fame or fortune is beyond cynical — it is, quite frankly, sick.

In a missing-person case, every bit of additional publicity brought to the case is helpful. The goal is to get the face of the missing person in front of as many eyeballs as possible, with the slim hope that somehow, somewhere, it will spark a glimmer of recognition. When Richard saw that Latoyia’s case was being ignored by local and national media a week after she had been reported missing, he took action. Anyone who derides him for that needs to take a long look into his or her conscience, provided he or she has one.

I can attest to Richard’s reluctance to speak to the press about the case once it had received widespread notice. He turned down request after request from the national media. At one point, he sent an email to me and a few other bloggers, asking whether any of us wanted to appear on an episode of the Tucker Carlson show, because he would not do it. All Spin Zone’s SpinDentist decided to appear on that show, and it’s a good thing he did — he was able to counter Carlson’s rants, which seem similar to Weyrich’s attacks.

But Richard was still part of the story, whether he liked it or not, because his actions had been the prime reason why this case received national attention. And for that, he deserves praise, not condemnation.

It’s telling that Weyrich repeats, in toned-down form, some of the most racist accusations about Latoyia and her family that we in the Philly blogosphere heard when we posted about her. Compare this statement from Weyrich:

with this racist drivel — written by “Mike” as a comment to this post of mine:

Kind of makes you wonder whether “Mike” was a nom-de-plume.

Weyrich is most emphatically and blatantly wrong in his contention that the attention bloggers brought to Latoyia’s case did not help solve it. The mainstream media attention brought increased scrutiny to the search for Latoyia — when the Philadelphia police department is questioned by CNN about a case, it takes notice. And it puts more officers on the case.

As Richard writes:

I’m proud to have helped, along with many other Philly and national bloggers, to bring attention to Latoyia’s case. I’m even prouder to count a man like Richard as a friend.

As for living in a city that shares its name with a glossy rag willing to print this racist slander, well, today I’m not too proud of that.

Other bloggers covering this story: Atrios, Will Bunch, Philly Future, Terrance Ryan, Above Average Jane, Philebrity, Steve Gilliard, Sisyphus Shrugged, and The Disenchanted Forest.

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