Media in the Courtroom

Media in the Courtroom

Should the media be allowed to cover court proceedings? Some may state there is a benefit of media attention in the courtroom; however it also can bring negative impact on court proceedings.   There is a matter of public opinion and society standards that often raises that question.   During major trials the public is eager to know exactly what happened.   Technology provides we the public with access to events which
could not become elements of popular culture in any other way; this
situation goes far beyond the courtroom, into wars like the Persian Gulf
War, or incidents of peace, like the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as
entertainment like the Super Bowl or Academy Awards Show.
The world that we live in is an electronically complex civilization that broadcasts every event of our daily lives. Television serves as a means that can abuse imagery and influence public view. McCall (1985) states that most people today choose to obtain news and other information through the television. Televised information reaches a high amount of people than any other setting. Television in our daily lives has an increasing role due to our need of seeing what is going on in the world that we live in.   From the sensationalism of court proceedings arises the argument and dispute concerning the cameras in the courtroom.   An unknown source once acknowledged, “Freedom of the press, properly conceived, is basic to our constitutional system. Safeguards for the fair administration of criminal justice are enshrined in our Bill of Rights”. (Author Unknown) The televising of trial cases creates dispute and tension between the First Amendment rights of the media to report on the justice system and the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial by an impartial jury (Samaha, 1999). Cameras in court epitomize the interface between two significant institutions in our society: the media and the justice system. The media serve as the primary source of information and the criminal justice system...