The murder of James Bulger prompted a media frenzy, not only on a national scale but also internationally, the pre-trial coverage was extremely extensive there was arguments that the juries opinions would be biased due to the opinions outputted via the media and public. Although the judge had agreed the coverage of the trial was beyond ordinary, it was agreed that it was acceptable for the hearing to undergo with the jury (Guardian, 2001).
The UK media coverage of the crime had deeply affected the trial due to public opinion. The media vilified Venables and Thompson excessively, only the day after the judgement, the tabloid, the Daily Star headlined quoting ‘How do you feel now you little bastards?’ (Franklin, B. and Petley, J., 1996), this