Let’s give some credit to the media circus

When an event like the Michael Jackson trial comes along, assorted bien-pensants can be counted on to decry the attendant “media circus.” But one could argue in this case that the media circus contributed to a kind of justice. A conscientious jury decided that the specific charges brought by the prosecution weren’t adequately supported by the evidence. At the same time, though, there was ample testimony—by witnesses who had nothing obvious to gain by perjuring themselves—that Jackson had behaved in ways that would at least merit public censure.