Media Coverage of the Conspiracy Trial

[Rob Wick]

As some of you know, I spent 14 years in journalism working for small community newspapers. Most of the time my beat consisted of covering city council meetings and taking pictures of large turnips. However, when I worked for the paper in Marion, Illinois, I became part of some big stories (big from my perspective). Let me say that I've seen the ultimate in mediocrity from several journalists (although it seemed most of it came from television reporters rather than print), but I've also seen the power used in a very good way. Most people don't like journalists simply because our first mission is to report the news regardless of who is involved. Of course some do it better than others, but most of the time what we wrote or what appeared on TV was something that someone didn't want known. I have been accused of being insensitive when I covered the funeral of two teens killed in a car accident, but I went there quietly and didn't try to speak to the families involved. I just wanted to see how people try to handle crushing grief. For every person who thought I was insensitive, a number also complimented what I wrote.

As for media coverage of the conspirators, competition makes for coverage that from a distant perspective seems salacious and unnecessary, but speaking as one who got scooped, that makes you less likely to want to let it happen again.

Let me close with one final point. People seem to forget that first and foremost, news is a business. To remain in business it must be profitable. It remains profitable only by the number of advertisers it has. This notion that news people sensationalize something to sell newspapers is just fantasy. Selling newspapers for a quarter or 50 cents doesn't amount to anything. Selling advertising is what makes any news organization hum. And if news executives (who are far and away politically conservative as opposed to those in the newsroom) thought that public outrage would stop people from advertising, you would see a massive sea change in every news room in America. Yet that hasn't happened.

Best
Rob