Page 164 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

IDEOLOGICAL APPROACH

of the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. Finally, court stories
are often incorporated into regular news programming, often serving as
the lead story in the nightly news.
In these programs, the defendants are presumed guilty until (or even
despite) being proven innocent. Court TV reporters Nancy Grace and
Diane Dimond have been accused of bias against celebrity defendants
such as Michael Jackson. For instance, on the day that Jackson was
acquitted of charges of child sexual abuse in 2005, Ms. Grace declared,
“Lady justice was kicked in the pants.” 40
Diane Dimond, who has covered pop superstar Michael Jackson’s
legal trials for over a decade, made the following revealing comments
after the verdict:

I defy any of these people who say I’m pro-prosecution to point out one
program where I don’t give both sides. I’ve never said he’s a pedophile.
I’ve never said he’s guilty. I have said that it’s inappropriate for a 46-year-
old man to sleep with other people’s children. He says it’s innocent. My
response is that society doesn’t see it that way. 41

Thus, within the context of the court TV genre, it is up to the jury
to come to the “correct” verdict (as defined by the point of view of the
reporters). Moreover, the point of view of these programs is critical of
the American criminal justice system. The cumulative message is that,
because the system puts the burden of proof on the prosecution, guilty
people are allowed to go free.
In programming presented from the point of view of working-class
people, these characters are portrayed as fools or villains. For instance,
in each episode of I Want to Be a Hilton (NBC), contestants such as a
plumber, a ranch hand, and a motor vehicle department clerk compete
for a $200,000 prize (which the show calls a “trust fund”) and a chance
to enter society alongside Paris Hilton’s mother, Kathy. The contestants
are the butt of the humor, as they struggle to understand the subtle cues
that enable insiders to negotiate their way in aristocratic society. Ales-
sandra Stanley explains:

The contestants’ assignments are cafe society specific: learning how to
select a wine at the “21” Club or eating escargot without gagging. When
Jabe, a ranchman from Joshua, Texas, resists the dish, one of the guests
at Mrs. Hilton’s table says, “But they have snails in Texas.” Jabe replies:
“Yes, sir. We just don’t eat ’em.” 42

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