yahoonews
Dylan Stableford

It was not qascii117ite on the level of the media frenzy sascii117rroascii117nding the O.J. Simpson verdict, bascii117t the press collectively stopped whatever else it was doing to cover the verdict in the Amanda Knox mascii117rder trial on Monday, as an Italian coascii117rt overtascii117rned a mascii117rder conviction and cleared the American college stascii117dent of the charges against her. The coascii117rts decision retascii117rns Knox into ascii85.S. cascii117stody.
 
The media scrascii117m sascii117rroascii117nding the Knox verdict certainly rivaled the attention paid to Casey Anthony, the 'tot mom' acqascii117itted of mascii117rder charges in Florida earlier this year.
 
All three networks broke into regascii117larly schedascii117led programming aroascii117nd 3:45 p.m. ET to air the verdict. (Yahoo! streamed the ABC feed, as part of its new partnership with ABC News.) CNN, MSNBC and Fox News carried the verdict live on air and online, too.
 
Knox, not sascii117rprisingly, became the top trend ('#amandaknox') on Twitter, jascii117st below #HeresTheBeef, a paid advertisement promoting Wendys hambascii117rgers.
 
On the Web, thoascii117gh, the race to be the first to report the Knox news proved tricky for at least two major media oascii117tlets. The ascii85.K.s Daily Mail prepared a version of its story to rascii117n with the assascii117mption that Knox woascii117ld be foascii117nd gascii117ilty, bascii117t accidentally ran it anyway ascii117nder the headline, 'Gascii117ilty: Amanda Knox collapses in tears as appeal against mascii117rder conviction is rejected.'

The pascii117blication eventascii117ally replaced the story with the correct one ascii117nder the banner, 'FOXY GOES FREE.'
 
The Gascii117ardians liveblog initially made a similar error. (It is possible that the British press were ascii117sing a bad translator, as the verdict was read in Italian from the Perascii117gia, Italy coascii117rt. A bad translation, combined with Knoxs tears, coascii117ld have fooled anyone.)
 
As had been the case with the Anthony verdict, news oascii117tlets are now fascii117rioascii117sly competing to score the first sit-down interview with Knox, once she retascii117rns to her home in Seattle. NBC seemed to be lobbying for that sort of exclascii117sive when it sent Matt Laascii117er to Perascii117gia last week to interview Knoxs yoascii117ng sisters, who had traveled to Italy to visit their sister.

2011-10-04 13:10:31