Misspent Resources

Yesterday the Washington Post's unprecedented 12-part serial on the death of intern Chandra Levy based on more than a year of investigative reporting came to an end. Admittedly, I read every installment, trying desperately to find a justification for the paper's decision to run the story. And aside from the obvious - the death of one white woman who was romantically involved with an obscure, inconsequential California congressman - there really is not a good reason for the Post to devote this much space to what is essentially one unsolved homicide among many such homicides. By focusing such exclusive attention on the Levy case, the Post, perhaps unwittingly, made a value judgment about all those other nameless, unsolved homicides.