Newsroom Perspective: Casey Anthony

    Is the dust beginning to settle yet? This has been a completely standard week at work with the exception of the madness that was the Casey Anthony verdict on Tuesday afternoon. Like the rest of the world, I am not without strong opinions. However, unlike everyone else, I'm not a "regular news viewer." This idea of being a "regular news viewer" versus not being one was brought to my attention by the World News floor director when she stopped by the newsroom Monday (to guilt me into sitting on the set.) But having affiliations with news, working in news, etc, we--news heads, watch the news differently. And it's kind of funny because I briefly caught the beginning of a WABC (the local ABC affiliate) newscast, and I noticed when the camera angle was just slightly changed and focus was altered on the shot--stupid things that most people wouldn't notice. And I remember in March, I was in Tulsa with a fellow production assistant to visit a former director and anchor, and  Ryan, Jake and I were watching clips from Fox 23 and it was so nerdy because the conversation was all about camera angles and differences in equipment and stuff. I think that was the first time that I realized we absorb news different, and kind of television for that matter. I remember watching the NFL Draft this year and wishing so badly to be in the newsroom behind the whole event because it would be madness; the number of cameras, the last minute changes, all of the graphics, oh my gosh. I'm way off subject. Anyway, Casey Anthony!
     I've been just as captivated by the story. Since I've been here interning, we've had live feed from our affiliate station in Orlando of all of the courtroom drama that I was glued to, I read nearly every story, and every update, on the ABC website, and I've engaged in each conversation about the trial that's come my way--needless to say, I was addicted. And like nearly everyone out there, and I feel fairly safe saying and meaning "nearly everyone," I wanted Casey Anthony to get that Monopoly treatment: Go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. But I hoped for that outcome more for the sake of a good ending to an even better story. And I was "shocked" by the verdict, but not shoooocked by it, and I say this without hindsight bias. By that I mean, I was shocked that as a result of the verdict, Casey Anthony will be a free bird in a matter of days, but not shocked that she was found not guilty of the charge of first degree murder.
      Regardless of how you feel about the story, the outcome, and it's main character, the Nancy Grace-coined "Tot Mom," I think there are a few important things to consider. First, is the role of the media in the villification of Casey Anthony; one of a handful of ugly sides I'm growing increasingly aware of. I almost guarantee that the first time you heard this story: doe-eyed two-year-old missing, and her party animal young mother failed to tell anyone for an entire month, right away, it preys on your emotions and already you had negative opinions about Casey Anthony. She didn't stand a chance against the opinions formed by the nation by way of the media.

 Stuart Chase said, "for those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is enough."

    Regardless of how the trial played out, opinions had been formed, and many minds were made. Then there's the anger and hard feelings towards the jury. Juror #3 that ABC had an exclusive interview with said that it had come down to the cause of death, and without a definitive cause, they couldn't define a punishment. Sure, with chloroform and duct tape, it seems nearly "common-sensical " to attribute those to murder. But imagine potentially having someone else's life in your hands, or even worse, your life in someone else's hands. Now imagine the reluctance associated with that, and relying on what someone else deems "common sense." I don't care how many people categorize an idea of common sense, if you're gonna take me out, I'd rather facts. 
     Most importantly, it's unfortunate that Casey Anthony has become the main character in this story and that the media and nation's fixation on her, and her outlandish lies and manipulations have taken centerstage. This story originally captivated the hearts of Americans because it was a story about a missing little girl, but it's been spun into a psychological thriller taken right from the set of Criminal Minds. SHOUT OUT TO CRIMINAL MINDS, MY FAVORITE SHOW EVER! But the focus should have remained on Caylee Anthony, and there were points when it didn't, and she was seemingly as invisible as Zanny the Nanny and the other make-believe characters.
     Either way, I don't want to play Nancy Grace, nor receive any death threats myself. But I support the verdict reached because it was based on the evidence presented. And I think Casey Anthony is bat-shit crazy, but was unfairly portrayed from the beginning. And the media was largely, if not unproportionately to blame. But, I have a funny story.
     So, Wednesday, the day that ABC scored the exclusive interview with juror #3, I got a phone call at work from a verrrry angry woman.

 

Me: NewsOne.

Her: Is this ABC, the affiliate..uhh, the network?

Me: Yes, NewsOne.

Her: Well, uhh, I heard that you all had an exclusive interview with the third juror in the Casey Anthony trial, and uhhh, I heard that you all offered her free trips to DisneyWorld and all expenses paid and everything! And I am OUTRAGED! I will NOT be watching ABC anymore, and I'm sure there are others that feel the same! So could you just pass that message along?!

     I wonder if she'll also stop watching ESPN, Disney Channel, Disney movies, ABC Family, and any other affiliations that ABC has. Baahah. That's all I'll say about that.

Knee-High by the Fourth of July

   I remember reading "Knee-High by the Fourth of July" on the front page of the Daily Chronicle a few years ago, and I don't know why that's something that's stuck with me. It's a saying that farmers use to anticipate a good season or the crops growing well--if the corn is knee-high by the fourth of July, then you're doing pretty well. 1,000+ miles away from the cornfields, my fourth of July wasn't set to be very exciting--I had to work. Surprise: news takes no holidays!
    I didn't have to work until 3pm, so I'd planned to wake up early and go layout in Central Park--but that was NOT happening. No matter how hard I try, I'm always sleeping right until I HAVE to get up for work. So, work started out pretty standard, exceeeepppttt!! The night manager and lineups person brought in hot dogs in like a crock pot, and we had a George Foreman grill, and homemade chocolate chip cookies--the GOOD kind, without too many chocolate chips! So, the day started out perfectly..I began with 2 hot dogs and some cookies. By the end I consumed 5 hot dogs in total and 6 cookies :-O baahaha, few people have seen me go to town with my fat girl binges. It was delicious though. Next year maybe I'll enter the infamous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest out at Coney Island.

First Time I'm Proud to be The Creep in back

     Then, later I was basically forced to sit on the World News set. I didn't really want to because I didn't feel like sitting still for that long, and it was David Muir as Diane is still gone, and I just didn't feel like it. But since it's a holiday, they were extra short on people, so I did. It wasn't too bad, and I was actually on TV alot this time!

Something Made Me Laugh...

     So, then my friend and I went to scope out whether or not we could gain access to ABC's roof on the 47 side. (Sn: that's where we work, ABC basically owns all of 66th & 67th street between Central Park W and Columbus, there's WABC, 147, 77, and 47 where we work.) So we made our way through this secret little way to the roof. You have to take one elevator to the top floor, then get off, and go up again on the only elevator that goes to PH (penthouse) and then climb a flight of stairs, and blah blah all this stuff, but finally we made it to the roof! OOOH MYY WORD!! I wish I'd taken my phone and camera with on our maiden voyage to the top because it was still daylight and the views were absolutely breathtaking! Handsdown THEEE BEST views of Manhattan I've had. Off to the left, we could see the park and itty bitty people laying out and past it over to the east side, and straight ahead we could see to the CNN clock in Columbus Circle, and to the right the Hudson River and Hoboken, NJ, and behind us the upper west side. Oh my gosh, it was beeaautiful! I'm gonna snoop back up there and get some pictures in the daylight before I leave because it was amazing!

     So we ended up watching the fireworks from there, and we weren't the only ones with the idea. There were quite a few people on the roof for the show, so we were in good company. It was pretty dope. The firework show itself wasn't quite as impressive as I would've expected, but the view, from the roof, and the excitement made it the best Independence Day I've had in some years.

"Brooklyn, We Go Hard"

  

  In my role as an intern, I've become a bit of a "yes-man." And by that I mean that essentially, whatever I'm asked to do, the answer is yes. As a result, Saturday was my only day off this past weekend. But, I decided that I'd try to make it a relaxing, yet fun day. There's this guy that I work with that I knew lived in my neck of the woods in Brooklyn, but I didn't realize how close--according to the map on my phone, 253 ft. away close. And he has rooftop access at his place, soo last week at work I was telling him how the tall buildings around the city are blocking my sun rays and making me Vitamin D deficient, and that I'd need him to clear his schedule to give me access to the roof. So Saturday we made that happen.

Rooftoppin.

     It's really a weird thing to have to consciously think about, because I'm used to have ample sunlight exposure, but I legit don't see the sun enough. So Saturday I was able to lay out for the first time since before finals, and the sun rays felt AMAZING! (The picture doesn't depict this well, but there were time when the clouds cleared and the sun was exposed.) Equally amazing was the view I had from the rooftop! I was able to see the tallest building in Queens and Brooklyn, the Empire State Building was straight ahead, and the whole East side of Manhattan from the Financial District up to about 59th St.

     So I was there for a while and then I'd planned to just go home and chill out before bed since I had to work the next day, but we decided to go to First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum. Sancia had told me about this before, but I didn't go. On the first Saturday of the month, the Brooklyn Museum is free from 5-11pm and all of the exhibits are free, and either inside the museum, or, since it's summer, out back in the parking lot, there's a DJ and stuff. So we went there and it was interesting. This was the most I'd seen of Brooklyn. When I'm there all I do is walk from home to the subway and back again, so finally I was getting out more in BK. (Sidenote: Marcy Projects, where Jay-Z hails from, is legit around the corner from my apartment--I'm so hood ;) lol) But first we went out back to where the DJ was and stuff, and ok, this whole First Saturdays thing just sounds like a hokie little way to get people to come to the museum, but soooo many people go! Oh my word. I hadn't seen so many people in one location (yeah, besides Times Square, and blah blah around the city) in a long time. There was like a sea of people all dancing, and still tons of people out front and in and around the museum. It was a cool atmosphere though, there were alot of people of different ages. It was cool.



All these mouths were humming a song.



     So then we went into the museum and walked around to each of the 5 floors to see the different exhibits. You know how museums are--dry, boring, you walk slowly, barely lifting your feet from the ground, and you talk in hughed voices--ugh! So I made sure to make it known what I was and was not interested in--boring old paintings are a no, attempts to make slavery into artwork are a hell no! lol but the Ancient Egypt stuff was cool. I had to take some pictures of a few bizarre things I saw.

 Each of these pieces of art amused the immature child in me, so I had to take some snap shots. I realize it's a sillouette and all, but did it have to have the peni (plural for penis.) lol and the one on the left, oh my gosh, his is waaayyy unpropotional and he's getting his butt played with--this isn't art, it's porn! And dirty porn, because there's like a shackle around his neck! Oh my god, as I sit here describing it, I'm more bothered than I was the first time I saw this. Lol see why I steer clear of museums.