Process Paper
While looking through the New York
Times website, we stumbled upon an article that caught our attention: the Etan
Patz case was reopened. We were intrigued by the case and how the milk carton
campaign figured into it. Prior to 1984, finding missing children was a
difficult task. The turning point came with the Milk Carton Ads Campaign; it
introduced to America the problem of missing and abducted children. And because
of it, society found ways to deal with the problem.
Our first step in researching was the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children website. This website led to other helpful missing children organizations, such as the National Child Safety Council. We personally interviewed their Director of Research and Development, Barbara Hugget, who informed us on how missing children cases were before, during, and after 1984. We interviewed NCMEC’s Executive Director John E. Bishop III, who told us about the NCMEC’s creation. We spoke with International Missing Children Detective, Monique Lessan, who told us about the process of the cases nowadays. We also contacted Missing Children Detective Christopher Blankenship, who helped us understand the importance media has on missing children. We spoke with Lisa Cohen, author of After Etan, who helped understand the importance of Etan's case. Former New York Police detective, John Briano's interview helped us on how it was during the 1980s for missing children. Finally, we interviewed Noreen Gosch, parent of the first kid to be on a milk carton. On YouTube, we found an interview with Hawthorne Melody Inc., one of the first dairy companies to do the milk carton ads campaign. We also found books about Etan Patz and Adam Walsh. The New York Times had several articles that portrayed missing children cases’ before and after to the Milk Carton Campaign.
As we selected the information we wanted to add to our website, we divided it into several pages that made our research flow to prove our thesis. Our website has elements like images, videos, slideshows, and audio to visually alert the community and raise awareness about this prevalent problem in our society. Also, we chose a website because we could add various information that enhanced the way we told the story of the Milk Carton Campaign, like images of the missing children and of the milk cartons and audio from interviews that illustrated the turning point of the campaign.
Prior to 1984, if a child went missing, a parent's chances of getting him back depended on where they lived and how the authorities of that location dealt with missing children. There were few organizations to help families, and law enforcement agencies did not share information. The turning point came in 1984 when the first dairy distributed milk cartons with the pictures of missing children on them. Other dairies soon followed suit. This brought the problem of missing children to America's attention. As a direct result, important legislation was passed, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was established.
Our first step in researching was the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children website. This website led to other helpful missing children organizations, such as the National Child Safety Council. We personally interviewed their Director of Research and Development, Barbara Hugget, who informed us on how missing children cases were before, during, and after 1984. We interviewed NCMEC’s Executive Director John E. Bishop III, who told us about the NCMEC’s creation. We spoke with International Missing Children Detective, Monique Lessan, who told us about the process of the cases nowadays. We also contacted Missing Children Detective Christopher Blankenship, who helped us understand the importance media has on missing children. We spoke with Lisa Cohen, author of After Etan, who helped understand the importance of Etan's case. Former New York Police detective, John Briano's interview helped us on how it was during the 1980s for missing children. Finally, we interviewed Noreen Gosch, parent of the first kid to be on a milk carton. On YouTube, we found an interview with Hawthorne Melody Inc., one of the first dairy companies to do the milk carton ads campaign. We also found books about Etan Patz and Adam Walsh. The New York Times had several articles that portrayed missing children cases’ before and after to the Milk Carton Campaign.
As we selected the information we wanted to add to our website, we divided it into several pages that made our research flow to prove our thesis. Our website has elements like images, videos, slideshows, and audio to visually alert the community and raise awareness about this prevalent problem in our society. Also, we chose a website because we could add various information that enhanced the way we told the story of the Milk Carton Campaign, like images of the missing children and of the milk cartons and audio from interviews that illustrated the turning point of the campaign.
Prior to 1984, if a child went missing, a parent's chances of getting him back depended on where they lived and how the authorities of that location dealt with missing children. There were few organizations to help families, and law enforcement agencies did not share information. The turning point came in 1984 when the first dairy distributed milk cartons with the pictures of missing children on them. Other dairies soon followed suit. This brought the problem of missing children to America's attention. As a direct result, important legislation was passed, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was established.