When the big business of news media comes to town on the trail of a sensational celebrity trial, lives are changed, stars are created or destroyed and ethical barriers shattered. The trials develop into defining cultural events, dividing communities and dominating lunchroom banter with tales of murder, sex and scandal. But why is it news?
With the O.J. Simpson case as culmination, celebrity trials have always been the focus of American and international news media. The recent trials of NBA star Kobe Bryant, pop superstar Michael Jackson were no exception. In Eagle, Colorado alone, more than 400 accredited journalists descended on a little-known town best known as a swell place to launch an elk-hunting trip. In Santa Maria, California, more than 1800 journalists from as far away as Russia showed up to cover Michael Jackson's woes.
BREAKING NEWS turns the camera on the cameras with access to the inner workings of the news teams. We follow producers and reporters as they scramble to put together stories about basically nothing.
BREAKING NEWS dramatically confronts one of the most pressing issues facing modern media-the constant pressure on television news organizations for ratings and money. We examine how celebrity scandals are low-hanging fruit and continue to discredit TV news as an institution. Viewers who rely on TV news for information will get a rare opportunity to witness the forces shaping their nightly newscasts.
In vivid detail, BREAKING NEWS chronicles the vast resources the modern media corporations pour into these cases - at a time when broadcasters are slashing newsroom budgets and closing bureaus around the world.
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