You know that feeling when you’re watching a true crime doc and you’re screaming at the TV because the cops are missing something so obvious? That’s basically what happened with the Robert Pickton case, except it wasn’t just the cops—it was the entire media machine.
49 women. That’s how many women Pickton is believed to have murdered. FORTY-NINE. And yet, for years, their disappearances barely made a blip on the media radar. Why? Because they were sex workers, many Indigenous, from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside—women society had already decided didn’t matter.
(I’m still not over this. Like, how does nearly 50 women disappearing not trigger immediate wall-to-wall coverage? Oh right, because our society is a dumpster fire of misogyny and racism. Cool cool cool.)
The “Before” Picture: Media Silence Speaks Volumes
Before Pickton’s arrest in 2002, media coverage of the missing women was pathetically sparse. When outlets did bother to report on the disappearances, the coverage often had this gross undercurrent of “well, what did they expect with that lifestyle?”
The message was clear: these weren’t “good victims” worthy of public concern or police resources. They were just addicts and sex workers who probably “ran off” somewhere. (Because apparently dozens of women from the same neighborhood spontaneously decide to vanish without taking their belongings or collecting welfare checks. Seems legit.)
Even when families begged for attention, most mainstream outlets yawned and moved on to stories about parking disputes in wealthy neighborhoods.
The Turning Point: When Bodies Can’t Be Ignored
It wasn’t until human remains were discovered on Pickton’s pig farm that media coverage exploded. Suddenly, the same women who weren’t newsworthy while missing became headline fodder once they were confirmed dead.
The Vancouver Sun finally launched an investigative series in 2001 that highlighted the police’s catastrophic failures. This reporting was crucial—it created public pressure that likely prevented even more deaths. But where was this journalistic vigor years earlier when it might have saved lives?
(Side note: I’ve read through some of the original coverage from that time, and I needed to take breaks because I was so angry. Ryan kept asking if I was okay because apparently I was “aggressively sighing” at my laptop.)
The Coverage Gap: Local vs. National Perspectives
Local outlets like The Vancouver Sun eventually stepped up with community-focused reporting that emphasized the human toll and police failures. They centered the victims as people with lives, families, and stories—not just statistics.
Meanwhile, national media outlets took a broader approach, examining systemic issues but often missing the intimate community impact. Some national coverage actually helped contextualize how marginalization creates perfect hunting grounds for predators like Pickton.
But both local and national media share blame for the initial neglect that allowed the case to grow so massive before serious attention was paid.
Media’s Blind Spots: Who Gets To Be A Victim?
The most disturbing aspect of the Pickton case coverage was how it exposed media bias about which victims deserve attention. Studies consistently show that missing Indigenous women receive significantly less media coverage than white women in similar circumstances.
When CBC News finally did in-depth reporting years later, they found that police had received tips about Pickton as early as 1998 but failed to act decisively. By that point, many more women had disappeared.
The media’s initial indifference mirrored and reinforced police apathy. After all, if these women’s disappearances weren’t important enough for headlines, why would they be important enough for thorough investigations?
The Aftermath: Has Anything Changed?
Recent reporting from IndigiNews suggests we’re still struggling with the same issues. While advocacy groups fight to preserve evidence from the Pickton case and push for accountability, media coverage of missing and murdered Indigenous women remains disproportionately low compared to cases involving white victims.
The Pickton case should have been a wake-up call for media organizations to examine their biases about whose stories matter. Some outlets have improved their coverage practices, but the fundamental problem persists.
As true crime enthusiasts, we need to demand better. Because when media decides certain victims don’t deserve coverage, they’re not just reporting the news—they’re deciding who gets justice.
And that’s scarier than any serial killer.