Honest, Accurate TV Coverage Has Been HIGHLY Overdue
[Above: Anne Bremner blows smoke]
NBC have shown the other American television networks how to make an objective documentary about the case.
I know that a lot of work went into making the NBC Dateline programmes with over 40 hours of tape shot for both stories. I hope the the likes of CBS News and ABC News now follow suit.
And that they always - always - remember this: Meredith Kercher’s murder was exceptionally brutal and sadistic. Specifically:
- She was sexually assaulted and viciously teased with a knife for many minutes before the final stab.
- And after the torture, she died a slow and intensely painful death, clutching her neck with both hands.
- She might still have been saved - but a conscious decision was made that she wouldn’t be.
- And this was then followed by two days of apparent glee on the part of the two defendants.
The news channels have to get their coverage right from now on. The case is precedent-setting in several ways, and far too important for the media to play fast and loose with the facts.
Hints of anti-Italy xenophobia have abounded in the American commentary. Such abysmal coverage would never have happened if this was an all-American case - the real victim would be there front and center, not a defendant with a notably odd history.
The parents of the prime suspect should not be allowed to dictate the content of the documentaries and news reports. The media have a duty to report objectively and not be used as vehicles for the Amanda Knox PR campaign. Some of the documentaries on the case have been essentially free advertisements for Amanda’s PR company.
I hope any future documentaries don’t include an interview with Curt Knox talking with great authority about Amanda’s interrogation despite the fact he wasn’t actually present. Amanda’s lawyer has already stated for the record that Amanda wasn’t hit by the police, so Curt can’t repeat that false allegation.
Juju Chang of ABC won’t be able to repeat the wild claim that the double DNA knife has been essentially ruled out after Patrizia Stefanoni confirmed that Meredith’s DNA is on the blade of the knife and Judge Paolo Micheli accepted it as evidence.
Rudy Guede was convicted of the sexual assault of Meredith, which means that the deeply offensive and untrue claim that there was no evidence of sexual assault can’t be repeated.
Instead of Anne Bremner analysing the wrong crime scene and ranting about Italian incompetence in a desperate attempt to discredit the investigation, the documentary makers should interview somebody who is actually an expert in forensic investigations.
Renato Biondo would be the best person to interview. He provided independent confirmation that the forensic investigation was carried out correctly, following international protocol. The only person guilty of incompetence was Anne Bremner.
It is always highlighted in documentaries that Amanda’s confession was thrown out by the Italian Supreme Court. However, they never mention that one of Amanda’s statements in which she admits to being at the cottage when Meredith was murdered was not thrown out by the Italian Supreme Court.
Her note to the police on 6 November is almost identical in content to the statements that were not admitted as evidence.
And Amanda Knox was not given the nickname Foxy Knoxy by the European press. It was a nickname she used herself on her MySpace page.
It’s wrong that inconvenient and incriminating facts are airbrushed out of these programmes. There has been a deliberate attempt to mislead and manipulate the general public.
The media should always have an ethical commitment to the truth, and they should never forget that it was Meredith who was the real victim of this terrible crime.
Unfortunately, this hasn’t always been the case. Well done, NBC, for breaking the mould.
Now CBS News, ABC News, and other television networks owe it to Meredith and her poor family to get it right, the next time they cover the case.
Posted by The Machine on 12/22/08 at 12:14 AM in News media & movies, Excellent reporting, Hoaxes against Italy, 1 Ital justice hoax, 2 Italian mileu hoax, 3 No evidence hoax, 8 No motive hoax, 9 Mignini v Knox hoax, 11 No court bent hoax, Hoaxers from 2007, Knox-Marriott PR, Raff Sollecito PR, Hoaxers: media groups, ABC Network
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Well said Machine. Law-enforcement experts and media people here in New York tell us they have NEVER seen worse crime-related coverage than this. Ever.
We are about to start a wave of complaints to the various watchdog bodies. All the media here is vulnerable, and showing that they have lied to their audiences is not something they welcome.
Posted by Fast Pete on 12/22/08 at 01:10 AM | #
The Machine,
I concur.
Where has Ms.Bremner gone?
What has happened to her truth and her mission?
Couldn’t get a slot at the hairdresser’s recently, so couldn’t appear in the media?
What has happened to this personal crusade?
I would say she is probably an intelligent woman, so maybe it has dawned on her that she has been lied to - after she has taken the time to look into the case herself.
I nearly dropped my chips when Dempsey stated that the name “Foxy Knoxy” was “highly offensive”.
One has to consider the fact that this is the name that Amanda Knox liked to go by herself, and indeed was plastered all over her own personal blogs by her own hand before she was accused of the murder of the girl she used to share a house with.
The agenda of people like Dempsey is very clear to me now, moreso as the trial gets nearer than what it was before - and the same goes for Bremner.
Posted by Deathfish2000 on 12/22/08 at 01:41 AM | #
About time that somebody has taken these “documentary” makers to task. Their job is not to entertain and titillate but to inform and report facts, fact and facts. The feelings of the true victims should always be paramount.
Posted by Guinea Pig on 12/22/08 at 01:58 AM | #
May I just start off with saying that, I have been reading your posts throughout and would like to congratulate you on your articulate work, and the manner in which you express yourself greatly on here. This is yet another great piece of work! It’s refreshing to read such intelligence and I can sense your passion when writing your articles. I for one, want True Justice to prosper.
Keep up the good work!
Ronnie!
Posted by R-Express on 12/22/08 at 02:15 AM | #
You are rigth The Machine. The media have to get their facts right in these kind of serious cases, involving murder and sexual assault and always, respect the victim. Excellent artilce Machine.
Posted by Iwantedtomeetyou on 12/22/08 at 02:43 AM | #
TM thank you for another great post.
Have to tell you though what a frightening image of the clueless one. I just had the fright of my life with that picture!
Is that the face of the ghost of christmas past?
Posted by Jools on 12/22/08 at 03:40 AM | #
My god, those eyebrows.
Posted by Deathfish2000 on 12/22/08 at 07:03 PM | #
Good picture - I agree with Deathfish2000 & Jools, the picture says it all :o)
Posted by Socrates42 on 12/22/08 at 07:43 PM | #
Thanks, TM, for the informative and as usual well written post. The screen shot is an eye opener, to say the least. It almost looks like the original eyebrows have been removed and a new pair added, higher up on the brow. Or is it just me?
Posted by Skeptical Bystander on 12/23/08 at 01:10 AM | #
The Machine has proven once again that if you do your research and have any common sense, then you can present the facts of this case as they are. The Machine is refreshing to read in a society riddled with media bullshit. Keep it up The Machine!!!!
Posted by Steve Torpey's Haircut on 12/23/08 at 05:26 PM | #
Amanda Knox is going to be judged for murder, but who will judge media for not being accurate or for presenting misleading facts? Noone.Propaganda is an even more obscure crime.
Posted by Angeliki on 12/24/08 at 04:35 AM | #
Great piece, as always. I just hope that Knox receives what she deserves.
Posted by Bex on 12/25/08 at 10:12 PM | #
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