Posted by Wacko Journo Drama As Cross of Accuser Begins – MiniBullet #11
Media loses their minds, drowns in conjecture and half-assed reporting
March 11, 2005 — Yesterday Michael Jackson arrived in court straight from the hospital, pajama bottoms and all, to face his accuser. And the media used this opportunity to, again, drive off the cliff with all sorts of speculative nonsense; trying to create the story instead of just reporting it.
The reporting of the details were pushed aside in favor of speculation from pundits, legal crackpots, alleged family friends, and TV psychologists — all of whom magically turned into psychics and mind-readers yesterday (March 10 2005).
Programs that normally couldn’t care less about more than 2 minutes worth of the defense figuratively kicking butt in the courtroom under cross-examination, suddenly had muti-segment panel discussions complete with know-nothing armchair psychologists insulting Jackson and trying to get into his head. Wacko journos, indeed. Jackson went to the hospital hours before he was due to go to court, according to reports.
Jackson spokeswoman Raymone Bain says that his hospital visit was supposed to be 15 or 20 minutes long to get a muscle relaxant to stop severe back spasms, and to be ready for court. For the record, this is certainly not the first time that Jackson has had back problems. There is a long history of these types of injuries that have stopped everything from multi-million dollar concerts to court appearances.
Bain told MSNBC March 10 that Jackson was advised by his attorney to go very quickly to the nearest hospital and take care of it. She says he arrived at the hospital at approx. 5:45 AM, hours before he was due in court. She also says that he wasnt discharged until 8:45AM, which was after he was already supposed to be in court. And he, as evidence by his attire, went straight from the hospital to court without changing. But, as always with the media, everything is bizarre or crazy.
Everything is dramatized by an army of drama queens, armed with microphones, cameras, and cushy anchorman seats. Suddenly Jacksons afraid to face his accuser, as one on-air nut suggested. I guess it must have slipped his mind that this isnt the first day of the accusers testimony.
He’d testified for about an hour the day before, which was March 9 2005. Did Jackson suddenly faint in the middle of the courtroom on March 9 when the accuser first took the stand? Nope. Was he afraid of facing his accuser? Hell no. He reportedly stared straight at the accuser, didn’t flinch and didn’t shrink from the confrontation. So what would make these wacko journos think that Jackson would suddenly not want to face him now, when he already has before?? Good luck getting a straight answer on that question from the collective media.
Dont get me wrong. Not all of the members of the press qualify as raving lunatics. But certainly, those who do qualify really showed out in force yesterday. And really, can you blame them? Jacksons looking a whole hell of a lot less guilty than they thought he would by this time. So when a prime opportunity like this presents itself, they need something on which to hang their proverbial hats. Suddenly Jacksons supposedly having psychological problems, another crackpot whispers into the ear of an unsuspecting Fox reporter; knowing full well they could bank on this reporter spreading their garbage. Jackson cant stand to hear the graphic testimony of yesterday, they scream. Deep breaths, people.
In case they havent realized, this isn’t the first day of court. Theres already been very graphic testimony, albeit riddled with massive inconsistencies/contradictions. And Jackson has been there for it with zero problems. But maybe, in reality, this is what the media cant understand.
Since it seems so easy to throw on that speculative cap, lets give it a shot. It has been a very good start for the defense. And as Raymone Bain says, Jackson is pleased with the job his attorneys are doing with, essentially, clearing his name. This was TOO much. There was TOO much good news for the defense. Hence, this latest media-created drama complete with scenes of Mesereau on the phone — while someone is psychically reading his mind to relay, in real-time, what he MUST be thinking. Oh and lets not forget the insults! What’s Jackson coverage without personal, immature insults anyway?
This is why I have no mercy in calling them out in such a way as this. The least of the harsh words I could think of, the wacko journo label, is quite serendipitous though. Suddenly allegedly serious news shows lead off with this story of Jackson in pajamas, when they previously either couldn’t have cared less or put off their short coverage until much later in their respective programs. Can’t say that Im surprised. Oh no, we cant have Aaron Brown opening CNNs Newsnight with a panel discussion about all of the major inconsistencies in the accusers brothers testimony outed through cross-examination. And just forget about spending 30 minutes of a single On The Record w/ Greta van Sustren show nailing down testimony that is contradictory to previous testimony .which is contradictory to testimony from other witnesses .which will be contradictory to defense evidence. That simply cant be.
Although Fox, in general, seems to have been offering more viewpoints and updates on this case than most. Sometimes right on the money, sometimes incredibly snotty and disgustingly false. This entity referred to as the media is made up of thousands of reporters.
Actually, I privately call them sentinels — think Matrix Revolutions. They just dont get it. They can’t understand how Jackson could stand up this long and this well; smiling and marching into court like hes going to war. That’s not the Michael Jackson they expected or wanted to see. Thus, when this opportunity presented itself to once again talk about him like hes a piece of trash, they pounced en masse as if this isnt a part of life.
To be blunt: $hit happens. You deal with it and move on. Id bet most of the jury sees it that way. But, of course, this life happens reality shouldn’t apply to Jackson…according to the media. It was good enough for this hard-nosed judge, though. He didn’t even chew Jackson out in court. He rescinded the standard bench warrant and restored Jacksons bail things which don’t usually happen if people dont have a legitimate reason for being late or not showing up to court.
Melville also, to his credit (can hardly believe Im saying that), clarified why the bench warrant was issued in the first place. This is standard procedure for someone, anyone who has failed to show up for court at a certain time. He correctly informed jurors that if any of them or any of the attorneys hadn’t made it to court on time, he would have also issued a bench warrant for their arrest until they were located and came to court.
From a Reuters report dated March 10 2005:
The jury was then brought in and the judge told them, “Mr. Jackson had a medical problem this morning and it was necessary for me to order his appearance.” He told the jury they should not draw a negative inference from that. “If one of you had called in sick or not appeared, or if one of the attorneys did, I would do the same thing. The trial is going to go forward (and) this has nothing to do with guilt or innocence.” (see Jackson Accuser Says Plied with Alcohol (March 10 2005))
But oh no! Little details like these are lost on the way to the broadcast media. Its facts like these that totally kill a good rant against Jackson, so theyre conveniently left out. Jackson cant be treated like everyone else without a negative connotation placed onto the situation.
Now to top off this day, Jackson got to see his attorney start to finally get a chance at cross-examining the accuser. And he came out swinging yesterday. This is why the armchair pseudo-psychoanalysis of Jackson doesnt make any sense. It is, though, in keeping with the word that’s been given repeatedly that Jackson is very eager to get a chance though his lawyer, of course to present his side by questioning the accuser.
Observers removed from the madness of the media have expressed their thoughts and most (pro-prosecution and pro-defense) basically question what the big deal is about Jackson in pajamas. My opinions on the collective media are very evident, and it is days of coverage like these which give those of us who rail against media coverage so much ammunition. Some, as they always do, will find a way to even blame Jackson for their selective coverage. And the coverage itself is a Three Ring Circus of epic proportions.
All of this to say that the situation isn’t 1/10th as dramatic as the media has made it. And frankly, Mesereau got the accuser, in just half an hour, to transform from an engaging little victim under prosecution questioning, to a combative, insincere young adult with an undertone of vengefulness. Let’s see the media go crazy over that. Stay tuned , but dont hold you breath.
-MJEOL