media trials
Journalism convicts prematurely
Media trials occur when news coverage and public opinion effectively judge a person—usually a criminal defendant—before or outside the legal process.
Intense reporting, speculation, and commentary create a parallel proceeding where guilt or innocence is debated in the court of public opinion: The media trial had already convicted him before jury selection began.
The term often implies unfairness, suggesting that coverage prejudices the actual legal proceedings or punishes someone beyond what the law allows.
- court of public opinionCollective judgment by society
- public opinionSociety's shared attitudes
- verdictOfficial court decision
- tabloidSensationalist newspaper format
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
character assassination · guilty · rush to judgment · headlines · courtroom · scandal · celebrity · perp walk · witch hunt · journalism · cameras · broadcast · spectacle · prejudice · coverage · anchor · feeding frenzy · prosecution
media trialslegal proceedings
Formal court-based dispute resolution
judicial proceedings · due process · jury trials · criminal trials · bench trials
media trialsfair trial
Impartial judicial proceeding
presumption of innocence · due process · right to counsel · legal protections · rule of law
media, trial, medium, medial, median, mediate, mediation, mediator, multimedia