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Judgement by Journalism
Nov. 15th, 2007 05:17 pmIt’s been said before, it’ll doubtless be said again.
My current irritable response is prompted by various murder cases currently being given Big Coverage by SKY news among others. I can’t be arsed to list the various cases because I’m bored bored bored by the constant repetition. (Diane is a news junkie, I’m sure there’s some sort of self-help group, but oh my, it can get tiresome. And by the way, have I missed any reference whatsoever to the Hollywood Writers' Strike, or have the news channels studiously avoided it?)
What really sticks in my craw is the way The Accused is always presented (never blatantly enough for a libel suit, but innuendo is a fine art here) as The Condemned, even before any trial has opened – complete with footage of jeering crowds, members of the victim’s family performing some ostentatious grieving activity, etcetera etcetera.
Look, I’ve got enormous sympathy for people who’ve lost a loved one through deliberate or accidental killing, but please, hang on just one minute. What became of "innocent until proven guilty?" What bloody-handed buggers are watching these news stories and chuckling to themselves?
Surely it would be more correct (but who now bothers with correctness, except for the mealy-mouthed political variety?) to save all these demonstrations until after a jury pronounces a "Guilty" verdict – bearing in mind that even then, it’s all too clear that real culprits are more than happy to lie low and let others take the rap. At least it’s just a rap, and if the real bad guy is finally caught and convicted (though since the police have already got someone and put them away, the urgency is a lot less urgent...) the not-as-guilty-as-we-thought can walk out of jail; as Timothy Evans learned, taking the trap with a noose necktie is permanent.
Even at the end of a trial, if the verdict turns out to be an uninteresting "Not Guilty" – which used to be accompanied by "and you may leave this court without one stain upon your character" – that bit of information is usually tucked away well after the Fireman rescues Toy Cat from Tree story, rather than the screaming headlines which accompany an arrest. After all, "Found innocent of all charges" is a lot less interesting.
Except of course for the recipient of such a verdict, and who gives a toss about them?
My current irritable response is prompted by various murder cases currently being given Big Coverage by SKY news among others. I can’t be arsed to list the various cases because I’m bored bored bored by the constant repetition. (Diane is a news junkie, I’m sure there’s some sort of self-help group, but oh my, it can get tiresome. And by the way, have I missed any reference whatsoever to the Hollywood Writers' Strike, or have the news channels studiously avoided it?)
What really sticks in my craw is the way The Accused is always presented (never blatantly enough for a libel suit, but innuendo is a fine art here) as The Condemned, even before any trial has opened – complete with footage of jeering crowds, members of the victim’s family performing some ostentatious grieving activity, etcetera etcetera.
Look, I’ve got enormous sympathy for people who’ve lost a loved one through deliberate or accidental killing, but please, hang on just one minute. What became of "innocent until proven guilty?" What bloody-handed buggers are watching these news stories and chuckling to themselves?
Surely it would be more correct (but who now bothers with correctness, except for the mealy-mouthed political variety?) to save all these demonstrations until after a jury pronounces a "Guilty" verdict – bearing in mind that even then, it’s all too clear that real culprits are more than happy to lie low and let others take the rap. At least it’s just a rap, and if the real bad guy is finally caught and convicted (though since the police have already got someone and put them away, the urgency is a lot less urgent...) the not-as-guilty-as-we-thought can walk out of jail; as Timothy Evans learned, taking the trap with a noose necktie is permanent.
Even at the end of a trial, if the verdict turns out to be an uninteresting "Not Guilty" – which used to be accompanied by "and you may leave this court without one stain upon your character" – that bit of information is usually tucked away well after the Fireman rescues Toy Cat from Tree story, rather than the screaming headlines which accompany an arrest. After all, "Found innocent of all charges" is a lot less interesting.
Except of course for the recipient of such a verdict, and who gives a toss about them?
