Media guilty but Zimmerman not guilty

Media guilty but Zimmerman not guilty
Wounded Times Blog
Kathie Costos
July 14, 2013

News Media guilty of killing news coverage but Zimmerman not guilty of murder turns out to be the outcome of this trail here in Florida. Every channel covered Zimmerman every chance they had since the shooting of Trayvon Martin. We can't call it murder now since a jury said it wasn't. The problem is not so much that another Florida jury found someone not guilty stunning the majority of Floridians, but the problem is the sensationalization to the point where no other news is covered.

The fact that once the trial date was announced, reporters from all over the country showed up. During the trial every station dropped their programming for the trial. CNN, FOX, MSNBC and HLN made sure they were not left out of the frenzy. Did anything else happen? Were there any other murder trials going on in the country or was this the only one?

The broadcast news media wanted us to believe everyone was watching but most of us were asking "Isn't there anything else on?" Standing in line at Publix was a true lesson in current events because everyone was sick of it.

Trayvon Martin's family reacts to verdict via social media
Orlando Sentinel
By Jerriann Sullivan
July 13, 2013

Trayvon Martin's family was not in the courtroom when the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial was announced. But moments later, family members shared their sentiments on the social media site Twitter.

"God blessed Me and Sybrina with Tray and even in his death I know my baby proud of the FIGHT we along with all of you put up for him GOD BLESS," Tracy Martin, Trayvon's dad, tweeted seconds after the verdict was announced.
read more here

The Sentinel decided to report off of tweets from Martin's family. How desperate were they to keep the story going? Did we care what happened? Sure but not to the point where nothing else mattered.

The loser in all of this are the stories that should have merited national attention.

In Lancaster Pennsylvania a Vietnam Veteran died trying to save other people from a house fire. Jimmie Moore should have mattered more to the national news stations.

The Army started to investigate two deaths. Army Spc. Hilda I. Clayton died in Jalalabad, Afghanistan and 44-year-old First Sgt. Tracy L. Stapley died July 3 at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar.

A homeless veteran was stabbed 70 times by a 21 year old "celebrating his birthday" but then news came that George Mohr, 71, died in Temple University Hospital Saturday.

Pvt. Errol D.A. Milliard, 18, of Birmingham, Ala., died July 4 in Farah province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with a rocket propelled grenade while on dismounted patrol.

CNN needs to stop letting social media lead the way on what they report. Soldier's suicide note goes viral, then CNN notices?

"I Am Sorry That It Has Come to This": A Soldier's Last Words came in June 10, 2012 and Gawker published the story on June 22. Wounded Times posted it on June 23. Daniel Somers had carried all that pain within himself but it seems the only time the media takes an interest is when it is too late to do any good for them.

There were so many stories coming out that in a normal world would have had national attention but then the reporters would have to actually go out and investigate, interview and spend time on the subject. It was a lot easier to follow the rest of the crowd in Sanford just as it was during the Anthony trial. Two not guilty verdicts had indicted the news but they just didn't notice.