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 Linda Thomas
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Potential jurors show disdain of the media

May 8, 2012 @ 6:36 pm (Updated: 7:12 pm - 5/8/12 )

As prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed on a jury in the Steve Powell voyeurism case, it was clear many of the 56 potential jurors had heard about the case and had a distrust of the media.

Powell In seating the jury of seven men, seven women (12 jurors and two alternates), attorneys asked questions about how much information they'd received about the case from the press.

One potential juror heard news accounts of the Powell case and turned off the radio or TV before getting too much information.

A man said he turned off the TV when he heard the Powell story on the news.

Another possible juror characterized the news media as being "lazy, inaccurate" and driven by ratings or selling papers.

"Most of the reports are strictly for ratings. I wouldn't try and make a judgment from a news broadcast I hear on television," said another.

Potential jurors aren't the only ones turning a mirror on the press. A veteran journalist also has doubts about the judgment of members of the press.

"As I've gone around the country, a lot of people say to me, 'What's happened with the press? What's happened with political coverage in America. We don't feel connected to it,'" says Tom Brokaw, who recently talked about how the press isn't serving the public the way it should.

Brokaw raised the issue after the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, which he says shows there's a "disconnect" between what the public needs to know and what journalists think is important.

"If there's ever an event that separates the press from the people that they're supposed to serve, symbolically, it is that one. It is time to rethink it," he said earlier this week.

A Seattle website developer believes the disconnect is real, and he says if news organizations want to survive they need to adapt.

Ben Huh, founder of the Cheezburger network humor sites, is getting ready to launch a news site. Yes, the same guy who gained fame with pictures of cats and funny captions.

He says it "pains him" to see that journalism isn't rethinking how it presents news. Huh believes media organizations need to look at they way they approach content "from scratch." That's what he's doing as he builds a news website that's expected to be up by summer.

In an interview with the Nieman Journalism Lab, Huh says Circa will be "more diverse in terms of ideas, a broader community that cares about the truth and the facts, a much more vigorous debate, and a more civil debate."

Now I'm holding a mirror - one eye closed because I know you can be blunt - and you're looking over my shoulder. What would you like the media to see that we don't get? What do we need to improve?

AP Photo/Rick Egan Steve Powell appears in court for his voyeurism trial at the Pierce County Superior Court, in Tacoma. Opening statements will be heard Wednesday.

By LINDA THOMAS

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Comments (7)


  • Add A Comment

  • Cash wrote...
    It is simple
    May 8, 2012 6:55 pm
    The news and media should only "Report" the news and not try and create it. I get so sick and tired of you folks trying to take credit for breaking a story. I think people care about the story being reported thorough and accurate and not the first to break it. As soon as this "We were the first to report" turned the news into a joke and it has just got worse from there. Most of us follow the same sources for news so fighting for the breaking news and taking credit for it just puts pressure on the outlet and they get sloppy. Oh yea how about taking a netual response to politics? Oh yea I am sure that will happen in my lifetime... NOT...
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  • BlueTalon wrote...
    Really?
    May 8, 2012 7:06 pm
    This is a trick question, right? The media isn't one amorphous blob that you can speak for. It is comprised of thousands upon thousands of people who may or may not be arrogant/biased/stupid/out of touch. The fact that you are willing to open yourself to inspection and introspection means you aren't the problem many are. Personally, if I had to recommend something to you, it would be to read the Constitution a few times. Many media types often substitute what some judge says for what the Constitution actually says. It drives me nuts. (Hint: if you read the Constitution, the question you posed in your truck-nuts column won't really be a question any more.)
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  • mnpat wrote...
    Stop trying to be the news
    May 9, 2012 6:07 am
    report accurately rather then quickly, I don't want your opinion, or ideology. Try asking the hard questions for a change and remember the U.S. of America has a rule book....it's called the "Constitution", not "Liberal Mania".
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  • ces wrote...
    What I think
    May 9, 2012 6:31 am
    I don't luke the way news radio and news TV stations tease stories. They make it sound like one thing in the commercial and then when you hear the actual story it isn't even close. I think that is very irresponsible. As for 97.3 and mynw.com specifically, I think that they frequently give part of a story and leave out huge important chunks. Like the story about the lady that found the lottery ticket in the garbage. There has to be so much more to that case then what we are hearing about. Also, the details of each news story are always slightly off depending on who you are hearing it from. Ursula will report one way, Dori another way and mynw.com another. That is also irresponsible to me. I always have to look at other sites to verify what I'm hearing/reading.
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  • cdbtx wrote...
    It's true
    May 9, 2012 9:47 am
    and numerous polls show that Americans trust the media less than politicians... The imortal words of Howard Beale "I'm Mad as H*&L and Not Going to take it anymore"
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