CBS News/ July 6, 2011, 8:20 AM

Casey Anthony trial: Media frenzy at new heights

Immediately after Casey Anthony was acquitted on charges she killed her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, Casey's defense attorney chided the media for presuming guilt long before the case ever went to trial.

And CBS News legal consultant Jack Ford says this was hardly the first time media coverage of a trial reached a fever pitch -- and only the latest example of justice as entertainment.

He notes that, as they had every day for the past six weeks, anxious crowds gathered outside the Orlando courthouse Tuesday morning, hoping to get in to catch a glimpse of one of the most captivating trials in recent memory.

"Once again, it was relentless media coverage that in large part fed the fascination with the case," Ford observed.

And just minutes after the not guilty verdict, defense attorney Jose Baez took a swing at the media, saying, "We have the greatest Constitution in the world, and if the media and other members of the public do not respect it, it will become meaningless."

It is, says Ford, a familiar charge, and one with a long history.

In 1935, the nation followed newsreel coverage of the first so-called "trial of the century," when a German immigrant was accused of kidnapping and murdering aviation hero Charles Lindbergh's infant son.

Media coverage was so excessive that cameras were subsequently banned from most U.S. courtrooms for decades after.

Sixty years later, it was newly-created cable news networks, hungry for compelling content, that drove coverage of the murder trial of O.J. Simpson to unprecedented levels and created a new market for celebrity courtroom drama..

In 2005, Michael Jackson was charged with child molestation. Although eventually found not guilty, the high-profile trial derailed his career for years.

And experts say the presumption of guilt is a hallmark of these media trials.

"They thought," says Jackson defense lawyer Tom Mesereau, "Simpson would be convicted. They thought Michael Jackson would be convicted, and they thought Casey Anthony would be convicted. And, in all of those cases, despite a very oppressive media, the juries, you know, followed the law, looked to the evidence and decide that the cases were not proven."

But, CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom says, the Anthony case had one critical difference from earlier media-heavy trials: "no celebrities. There's just an ordinary little girl who was found dead, and mother who is accused of her killing."

Still, says Ford, whatever the circumstances, the public's appetite for these types of cases, fed by ever-expanding media coverage, should only continue to grow.

Ford and criminologist Casey Jordan discussed the verdict, the hoopla surrounding the case, and the media members who covered it with "Early Show" co-anchors Chris Wragge and Erica Hill:

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
20 Comments Add a Comment
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suncitylover says:
America is an educated nation? Well yes, educated by the media, and that's the reason why they have so much control over our minds. How is it possible that a famous person can be taken to court just because some low-life woman and a racist, vendictive cop yell Wolf! Not enough evidence, not a single solid, credible witness and yet that was enough to destroy a man's life, namely Michael Jackson's. How can Casey Anthony gain such notoriety for being an unfitted mother to say the least. So much, that now she will make millions by selling the rights of her case to have a book published and a movie deal. Sadly, some people will buy the book, and some others will go to the theaters to watch the movie. On the other hand, I'm sure there are talented writers out there with fantastic, valuable stories who really deserve to be published but will never have an oportunity like that, because we the public act like a blood-hungry bunch of ignorant vampires. This is the kind of nation we have become and this is the kind of media we deserve unless we elevate our own standards as human beings and then demand our government to regulate the journalistic activity and force the media to abide by the same rules as the rest of the citizens of this country. No reporter, magazine or network should be able to get away with murder. Literally.
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juney07 says:
I'm perplexed why Michael Jackson's 2005 trial would be mentioned along with the MURDER trials of OJ and Anthony. Michael's trial was a trumped up pile of garbage manufactured by an out of control prosecutor who should be, right now, sitting in the very cell he hand picked for Michael. CBS, if you have Diane Demon reporting on the Murray trial, you will lose viewers, I promise you. Demon has no morals or ethics and "assisted" prosecutor Sneddon in "finding" evidence against Jackson. The media destruction of Michael Jackson is one of the saddest commentaries on American journalism, which acts as a drug to satiate the weak minds of those who buy into its medialoid trash.
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Tori44 says:
It is indeed accurate to suggest that the media's reporting of judicial proceedings now lies beyond all ethical control. Often writers will hide behind the notion of freedom of the press but in a world driven prominently by corporate and business interests the only liberty the mainstream media exercises is its gross ability to wantonly dehumanize, crucify and vilify any individual it chooses, merely to produce profits. Such a point is tragically highlighted by the manner in which the media presented and continues to present the facts of Mr.Jackson's 2005 trial. As several prominent writers and legal experts have opined, for the media, money, and a wealth of salacious stories, was to be made in a conviction. At no point did the media concern themselves with the facts of this case: That the prosecutions's flimsy, non-existent case consisted of a family with a prior history of extorting celebrities and a couple of legal art books, that the witnesses for the state perjured themselves on the stand on an almost daily basis and were completely annihilated by Mr.Jackson's defense, that the mother of the accuser was unstable and had serious mental health issues, (throughout her testimony she continually referred to "the Germans," a non-specific group that was "after her",) that the DA and the DA's office exhibited several signs of malicious prosecution-for example, during the grand jury hearings, the DA, Tom Sneddon, was caught trying to fabricate fingerprint evidence, that the DA's office, which has a history of racially motivated attacks, stacked the charges against Mr.Jackson by employing an utterly ludicrous conspiracy theory, namely, that he had attempted to keep the family "hostage," despite the fact that bill and receipt payments indicated they had been using Mr.Jackson's cars and credit cards to shop and sight see in the nearby town during this alleged period of "imprisonment."

Tragically, the facts of this case, which amount to a modern day lynching, were all but ignored by the media in their stampede to report salacious and unfounded gossip.Freelance Journalist Charles Thomson expresses such points succinctly and poignantly in an article aimed at highlighting the gross distortion employed by the worldwide media in order to generate ratings. The conclusion to the article, aptly titled, "One of the most Shameful Periods in Journalistic History," states this:

"The media did a number on its audience and it did a number on Jackson. After battling his way through an exhausting and horrifying trial, riddled with hideous accusations and character assassinations, Michael Jackson should have felt vindicated when the jury delivered 14 unanimous not guilty verdicts. But the media's irresponsible coverage of the trial made it impossible for Jackson to ever feel truly vindicated. The legal system may have declared him innocent but the public, on the whole, still thought otherwise. Allegations which were disproven in court went unchallenged in the press. Shaky testimony was presented as fact. The defense's case was all but ignored.

When asked about those who doubted the verdicts, the jury replied, "They didn't see what we saw."

They're right. We didn't. But we should have done. And those who refused to tell us remain in their jobs unchecked, unpunished and free to do exactly the same thing to anybody they desire.

Now that's what I call injustice."


I can only hope that those in the mainstream media, animated by a seemingly rabid and never ending desire to crucify an innocent man, retrieve their consciences, long buried under avarice and prejudice, and afford Mr.Jackson the dignity and respect he so readily deserved, and yet was so barbarically denied in life. The world, in Michael, lost an incredible humanitarian, father and musician. How tragic people should ignore or shun these true qualities of his life in order to feed their own avarice. We have trampled over and destroyed a treasure we should have cherished-a sad reflection of modern day humanity, and the modern day mainstream media which seems to encourage, above all else, man's inhumanity to his fellow man rather than fostering adequate conditions for the preservation of truth.
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ladypurr-2009 says:
This case grabbed my attention from the moment it was first reported back in 2008. What struck me so deeply and emotionally was the discovery that Casey Anthony waited 31 days to report her 2-year-old daughter missing. I asked the the million dollar question: "What mother would be so irresponsible and unconcerned to wait a month to report her daughter missing?"

Three years later she's found "not guilty" of killing her daughter and two other serious charges. The media said otherwise. They were crawling all over this case, 24-7, doing just about everything they possibly could to convince the listening audience that she was guilty. Now, they are dumbfounded. They've coerced the majority of Americans to believe there was a gross injustice committed yesterday. Well, the prosecution simply could not produce enough evidence to prove Casey killed Caylee. This terrible case proves no "innocence" apart from the grievously mourned child. It is extremely difficult to swallow that evidence presented was insufficient to convict Casey Anthony. All the evidence proved is that Casey Anthony is a pathological liar, a shallow, self-absorbed narcissist incapable of living in reality and surely unfit to be a parent but...a murderer? Apparently not. Will we ever know what happened to little Caylee? Sadly, I doubt it.

What troubles me most about our modern-day media is that they wield so much unjustified influence. Most Americans have become so dumbed-down and willing to believe whatever a journalist says without first taking the time to familiarize themselves with the issue and listen to, or study all aspects--before accepting word-for-word, what flows out of a celebrity journalist's mouth.

Media will continue to focus intently on this case but very soon like a tremendous school of fish, they will in unison descend upon Los Angeles, CA for the next big thing....the Conrad Murray manslaughter trial. Having been deeply affected by the untimely and senseless death of Michael Jackson, I dread what looms ahead. If I recall, the media turned Michael Jackson's 2005 trial into a media circus, focusing on frivolity and often failing to report that Mr. Jackson's attorney systematically demolished the testimony of witness after witness. Michael Jackson was ultimately found "not guilty" on all 12 criminal counts, some of which could have sent him to prison for many years. I read some of the transcripts from that trial and I was appalled that a trial was even being conducted. It was one of the most expensive and unnecessary trials in California history yet when the verdict came down, the media choked and reacted much like they have in the Casey Anthony trial. How could a jury find this man not guilty on every count? How? By following the law which states that you cannot convict unless there is substantial evidence to prove a crime was committed. There simply was NO evidence to prove that he was guilty of ANY of those offenses. However, the stress and emotional pain of the trial took its toll on Michael Jackson. He never truly recovered because the media wouldn't accept that he was not guilty.

I don't know how to rein-in the over-the-top coverage of criminal trials given the nano-second technology that rules our lives and the voracious competition by the major networks for ratings and viewers but, as an educated nation, we all have a responsibility to hold our news media responsible to adhere to the code of ethical journalism. See: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

I said prayers for little Caylee Anthony. She's with God again. I also prayed for the Anthony family, and particularly for Casey. She is the most hated, vilified human being in America right now. Hate has no place in the heart of a truly conscious, caring human being. God will be the ultimate judge and He will hand down his verdict the day we all stand before him. May He be merciful to all of us.
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RetiredMilitaryWoman says:
This constant feeding of perceptions for the sake of TV ratings and Internet site popularity has gone too far. Journalist using the rapport they've established with their viewers to play upon their emotions and prejudices. 3 yrs of trying this case outside a court without facts, using misleading comments and withholding real legal guidelines on Capital cases lead to this.
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MarieSullivan90 says:
I am so sick of sensationalism in the mainstream media regarding trials ..What a sell out to have people like CBS so called corespondent, Diane Dimond passing for real journalist, when quite clearly she was only reporting one side of the Michael Jackson case.Are people who twist courtroom testimony to fit their own agenda and career aspirations to be spoon feeding the general public garbage and when a jury comes to a different conclusion then what suits these peoples need, they take to the airwaves and use them to insult jurors and still scream for a conviction.
I was beyond disgusted after looking into the Michael Jackson case.If there were any real reporters out there they should have been reporting on malicious prosecution on the part of the prosecutor in that case and how every witness he put on the stand had admitted to either owing Jackson money , selling stores to Ms Dimond for money ,perjury etc.It goes on and on..And I heard NONE of this on the news..yesterdays verdicts brought the banshee out again..enough of the garbage..act responsibly..
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TomWatson8888888888888 says:
I first became aware of media abuse during the Michael Jackson trial; I'm not American and didn't know anything about OJ Simpson. Anyway, I was interested enough in the Jackson trial to find and read the trial transcripts and know the jury made the correct decision; there was no believable evidence - yet the media had him guilty. In the Anthony case, which was calling for the death penalty, there was not enough evidence to prove beyond doubt she intentionally harmed her child - yet the media had her guilty. What is odd though is Anthony was not famous so it seems like her case was sensationalized ONLY for media attention and ratings.
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beinginformed says:
Tabloid media made itself judge, jury, and prosecution in the Casey Anthony case before it ever came to trial. The likes of Nancy Grace have the media sheep believing that Ms. Anthony is guilty even before she has a chance of defending herself. The media is so busy with sound bites that they don't stay in the court room long enough to hear all the sides of the story. As the court transcripts show in the Michael Jackson trial, the media was eager to run out of the court to tell one side but forgot to tell the other side of the testimony. They were surprised at the verdict but really shouldn't be when the actual testimony is presented. If the media doesn't get the verdict they want then the jurors and the court must be the problem. Maybe a little truth in reporting would be a good idea so that we can make up our own minds. But, alas, I hold out no hope for that.
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Cezleo says:
No doubt the frenzy accompanied all of them. But you place MJ's trial in the company of murder trials. I take a bit of umbrage with that. I know no one cares much. The only reason it did cause a frenzy is because people were ready to kill him or put him in jail for something he didn't do. People who gathered for O.J. and Casey were there for the murder trial verdicts of those people. While there are many, many children that MJ helped save their lives, and he donated heavily to 35+ charities, he's in the Guinness Book of Records for that fact, alone. But, the good and gracious stuff gets "thrown under the bus." After studying him and all the good and bad stuff, particularly since he died, I think his shyness, his humbleness "off stage", with plastic surgeries, the skin disease, the children without a biological mother's nurturing, all made him a media mecca. He was different,so was his life.

Also, Ted Bundy didn't get away. And that was in Florida. Maybe because the media was not as networked as it is now.
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Incisive1 says:
Nancy Grace is the kingpin (or queenpin) of character assasination in the media. She is the biggest reason why a majority of people still think Casey is guilty. There was zero evidence supporting pre-meditated murder - hence the acquittal.
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