What makes some trials bigger news than others?

[Phoenix84]

Maybe the answer to the question is obvious, but after seeing several articles on the Jodi Arais trial, I can't help but wonder.

What makes some criminal trials, like the Casey Anthony Trial, or the Jodi Arais trial, or the Scott Peterson Trial, or the George Zimmerman trial such big news?  Presumably there are hundreds, if not thousands of murder trials every year, but why do a select handful capture so much media attention?

In summary, what properties of a murder trial make it so that it's huge national news? 

I'm aware that missing persons and the murders themselves receive little media attention unless the subject is a young attractive white female or a child.  But why such a disparity in media reporting of murder trials? 

[chiver78]

the "train wreck" factor. think about all the minor fender benders you drive by on the road over your lifetime. do you crane your neck to check out what's going on? now think about a massive multi-car pileup, with pieces of vehicles strewn all over the highway. do you crane your neck now?

I remember when the OJ verdict came in, I was sitting in English class. the department head came around to all the classrooms to tell his teachers what the verdict was.


was that the first hugely publicized trial? I can't remember any before then, but I don't know that I was really paying attention at that age.

[midjd]

was that the first hugely publicized trial? I can't remember any before then, but I don't know that I was really paying attention at that age.

Manson might have been the first huge trial... it seemed like it got a ton of coverage at the time (at least judging by the videos). But that involved celebrities, as did OJ, and Tonya Harding... Jose Menendez was a Hollywood exec... it seems like the highly publicized trials of Joe Blow from Idaho are a fairly recent phenomenon.

I think the train wreck factor is a big part of it. Many of the publicized cases also involve issues/controversies that are currently in the public eye (e.g. George Zimmerman - they could focus on racism and gun control). And sadly there does seem to be a slant toward cases involving young, pretty white women.

But as far as the disparity in reporting of the actual trial, a lot probably has to do with the level of access granted by the trial court. Many states prohibit recording of the proceedings or limit the number of media permitted to view. I'd guess a disproportionate number of the huge trials are out of states where the laws are more relaxed (California, Florida).

[swamp]

Sex sells. 

I think with Arias, it's bizarre to imagine such a mousy looking girl to be such a freak in the sack. 

Peterson was big news because they were both hot and all American looking. 

[Deleted]

The TV ratings that they can garner.

[milee]

Being a unique set of circumstances contributes to making a big trial. 

Right before we moved, Phoenix law enforcement did a study to determine what percent of murders were random crime vs. people engaged in risky acts already.  The majority - think it was around 70% - of the murders were people engaged in risky acts such as prostitution, drugs and illegal immigrant smuggling.  Of the remainder, another 28% or so were domestic violence cases and the remaining 1% - 2 % were stranger attacks. 

So a prostitute or a drug dealer being murdered isn't going to make news unless it was particularly gruesome or otherwise extraordinary.  Most domestic violence cases, sad though they are, are likewise not really that unusual, so that leaves the 1% stranger crimes and the truly unusual stuff that stands out.

[kgb18]

Honestly, I don't know why some trials catch on and some don't. Some are obvious, like OJ, because he had fame before. Mid had good points about some being a train wreck and also levels of access to the proceedings.

We have a case about to go to trial in my area. For some reason it caught the interest of Dateline. They've called me several times to ask questions, but I don't think they're getting a lot of cooperation from the people involved, so it may not go anywhere. I sort of get why they're interested in it. We have another trial coming up that, in my opinion, seems more like a national news story, but I don't know how much attention it will get. The national news outlets ran stories about it when the suspect was ordered to stand trial. I guess we'll see what happens when he is actually tried.

I'm aware that missing persons and the murders themselves receive little media attention unless the subject is a young attractive white female or a child.

I do not believe that's true. That is a perception.

[chiver78]

May 20, 2013 17:49:19 GMT -5 midjd said:

was that the first hugely publicized trial? I can't remember any before then, but I don't know that I was really paying attention at that age.

Manson might have been the first huge trial... it seemed like it got a ton of coverage at the time (at least judging by the videos).

they had cameras in the courtroom? I guess that was the turning point that sticks out in my mind from the OJ trial.

and swamp - the mousy thing seems like an act. I've seen pictures of the happy couple back in the day, and she looks kind of strung out in some of the pics. and blond, with sex kitten kind of facial expressions in some too.

[kgb18]

I wrote a police story last year. It was quirky, but not THAT weird. It got picked up by the AP. The funny thing was that most people from outside the area who read it thought it was a joke. I started getting emails from not only other states, but people in other countries, asking where we were located and if it was real story. I guess it seemed like something out of The Onion. It was pretty funny trying to explain to some guy in New Zealand, that "Yes, this is a real place, and it was a real story."

[swamp]

When I worked in the DA's office, a woman was arrested for putting her 4 year old kid in a hockey bag. He was in a store, he was having a fit, so she stuffed him in there and carried him out. That got picked up nationally and I got some calls on it. 

 I ended up dumping the case as DSS because the kid thought it was hilarious and he wasn't hurt. DSS did an investigation and determined whole unorthodox, it wasn't abuse.  There were people who wanted this lady to go to jail. 

People be nuts.