What’s the cliche? If you can’t lick ’em, join ’em?
We all sense how media scrutiny has changed the way crimes and other misdeeds are reported and perceived. Herman Cain, faced with allegations of sexual harassment, fights back with charges the news media is trying him in the court of public opinion. Perhaps he’s taking a page or two out of the Newt Gingrich playbook. Make the news media the fall guy, the bad boy, the source of all evil. Never mind that the allegations are based on records and settlements that diligent reporters were able to unearth from their vault of secrecy.
And now we’re seeing a full court media press from the Jerry Sandusky defense. They’re going straight to the same news media who have apparently been pillorying them unfairly. Never mind the almost three years of grand jury testimony and the growing roll-call of alleged victims. Here’s some samples of their media counter-attack:
- Joe Amendola, Jerry Sandusky’s attorney, says showering with kids doesn’t make Sandusky guilty. Amendola also implies that Mike McQueary is a liar. Of course, as a witness, Mike McQueary cannot say anything in his own defense.
- The attorney says he thinks they’ve found the alleged victim in the McQueary incident and that he will vindicate Mr. Sandusky. Which victim? The New York times reports that close to 10 new victims have now come forward.
- Sandusky himself has gotten into the act. In an “exclusive” interview, Sandusky tells Bob Costas: I shouldn’t have showered with those kids.
Meanwhile, the Dr. Conrad Murray documentary has aired on MSNBC, much to the chagrin of Michael Jackson’s family.
What are we to make of this media counter-attack strategy? Much as I dislike it, I know it’s inevitable. One is ill-advised to let serious allegations fester unanswered. And fair is fair; ethical journalism means both sides of the story should be told. That doesn’t mean we always have to take the media counter-attack seriously. As Shakespeare noted:
…it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth
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