Amanda Knox on trial (BBC News)
Coverage of the trial of Amanda Knox is a saga that continues to gain criticism for over reporting, sensationalism, poor quality tabloid journalism and straight up unethical representation. And there’s no doubt the emergence of new mediums like blogs have added to the problem.
Since her arrest in 2007 for a role in the murder of British roommate Meredith Kercher while on a study abroad trip to Italy; Knox, a University of Washington student has left both European and American press and public enraptured with the prospect that someone so young, successful and attractive could be a sexually motivated murderer, and spawned coverage which could be described as obsessive. The sheer volume of coverage alone has made Knox a household name across Europe and the US.
Once upon a time, if you wanted crisp, accurate facts you headed straight for the broadsheet. These days, the news streams at you from all angles, complete with opinion. Since the birth of social media there’s no doubt we’ve seen the lines between traditional factual news reporting and opinion and tabloids blurring.
British tabloids labeled Knox a seductive middle class monster, repeating the words “smoking pot and having sex” in article after article, dubbing her “Foxy Knoxy” and using words like “narcissist” and “liar” in their own character analysis.
In 2009 at the conclusion of the trial a search for Amanda Knox broadsheet The Observer’s website yielded 134 hits while a search for her largely ignored accomplice Rafaelle Sollecito yielded just 2 results, indicative of the British public’s obsession with Amanda, fed by media.
As if that wasn’t enough to influence the trial of Amanda Knox, sadly new media presented the perfect platform for sensationalism in the form of hundreds of multimedia clips of court room sessions and TV reports, often focused on her choice of outfit and demeanor.
Support or distaste for Knox has spawned hundreds of blog sites and movements. Try searching for Amanda Knox or Meredith Kercher on Facebook and watch literally hundreds of groups appear from “Free Amanda Knox” to “RIP Meredith Kercher” and “Boycott Hollywood movie…”
A Google search for “Amanda Knox blog” yields 5,110,000 results and ongoing posts four years later continue to spawn a war of words between Amanda Knox supporters and those who believe she’s guilty.
A photo by TheImpressionist.co.uk, representing the trial of Amanda Knox
The photo above by TheImpressionist.co.uk – a website calling itself ‘News through the lens of art’ accompanies a story titled ‘Foxy crime, beauty & the human psyche’, and goes a long way in demonstrating how a previously non-credible news source can pose as such today.
Accuracy is compromised, harm is often done to the stories subjects, distaste and subjectivity creep in and worst of all, people read sites such as this and they think it’s news.
At what point does Freedom of the Press become freedom of the person posing as the press?
Kirbatronic 