“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses. ” Malcom X. With this quote Malcom X displays how powerful the media really is. Not only can the media affect how one person is viewed in court but it can affect how everyone thinks without the people even realizing. With that being said a case can be made to consider the media as the fourth branch of the government. The media influences everything including the three known branches. A current example is the current state of the United States since Donald Trump was elected as President. The protests grow larger in number and in anger with nearly every …show more content…
As Malcom X said the media can make an innocent man guilty and a guilty man innocent. The media attention affects the case from the very beginning, as early as choosing the jurors for high profile cases. A very big factor in aa court choosing a juror is for that juror to be impartial, but with the media coverage most people who have seen the news will have developed some biases. ““Social science research has found that “exposure to the various media had a prejudicial impact on people, as they were unaware of their biases. ” (Ogloff & Vidmar, 1994)”” Even if the jurors do not realize their biases they may still be prejudiced. Once the jury is chosen the media’s impact on the case is not finished. Without the media a juror would have to make a decision based on what was presented to them in court, but with media a few passionate people who do not know the entire story could broadcast something that sways a jurors’ decision more than what was presented in the court of law. According to research jurors are not the only ones susceptible to the media coverage, as studies have shown that highly publicized cases can sway a judge’s ruling. Elected judges have a tendency to lay down harsher sentencings than if the case is less