[quote=Halo]
I'm certainly not arguing that the media handle these things in a responsible way. All I was ever arguing was that it's important for the individual to pay attention to court decisions. The lens through which they do that - the media - may be very faulty, but it is still an individual's responsibility to pay attention to these things, to ensure that if there is some problem with the way things are being done that that issue is addressed. Taking your logic, people should not pay attention to voting candidates and their policies because the media may screw around with the facts, be biased, and encourage extreme or oversimplified, polarised views of things. We know the media does this, but regardless of that, it is still important for people to pay attention to political candidates, parties, and policy, no? Maybe I'm simply missing your point - I get the impression we are talking at slight cross-purposes here.
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I think we're talking about two different things, or perhaps, you're talking about the end result when I'm only talking about the means. There's a great quote by Thomas Jefferson — 'The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.' I *detest* our national media, not for bias or one-sided-ness but for a pervasive incompetence and repugnant business practices. As relating to this thread, I'm reacting to the media's involvement in national discourse, specifically in legal cases, and I'm arguing that it's almost entirely a destructive influence, with few-if-any redeeming qualities. If I'm reading you right, you're arguing that 'we still need to talk about these things,' and I agree, but if that means we need to rely on the news corps to mediate the conversation, then I want nothing to do with it. I made a thread a while ago about how I get informed on a topic -- it's worth dragging out again, stand by for an edit, I'll find it for ya....

EDIT: [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/16741/posts/ooc?page=2#post-409245]Here it is[/url]! Not a thread after all, just an atypically long and thoughtful response in a Turt thread, which explains why it took so long to find. Fair warning, 'guide to the news' was written while I was plastered, but I stand by it sober. The TLDR is that 'news' is not a source of information, nor a lens for viewing information.... it's pig slop for pigs, nothing more, nothing less. Pick out the chunks of corn if you must; I'll be eating steak.