31 Comments
Apr 17·edited Apr 17Liked by Dave Busiek

I am a journalist of 54+ years and totally agree. This is like tabloid pap. What purpose does it serve anyone? It endangers the lives of jurors and their families and just plain ignores the reason for not IDing them in the first place. People will be coming up with all kinds of excuses to not serve on a jury if this is what a so-called "journalist" thinks is proper reporting. Journalists, know your place in this event. People watch tell-all YouTube for this kind of rabble, which is just what it is. Responsible news outlets need to lead the way and show some responsibility. Shameful.

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I really enjoy your insights. But is the juror formally from Oregon or Georgia?😁

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OMG! I agree, especially after what has happened before, as you pointed out. I haven't watched the news this week because I can't stand to see a certain orange face any more. I did watch Stephen Colbert last night though. He included details like that in his monologue but I just figured he was making it up for his jokes. I can't believe they were actually revealing these details. How awful! And wrong, just wrong!

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Great column.

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You just recapped our last night’s dinner table conversation. What in the name of Roger Stone are these networks thinking? All Trump needs is ONE juror to hold out and it’s a hung jury.

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As always, you hit the nail on the head. I wish you were teaching journalism at every college in the country. Can we figure out a way to clone you?

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The judge in the case should issue an immediate gag order against the media for revealing these details. Then immediately dismiss the current jury--for their own safety--and reseat another jury with that gag order in place. This media reporting is absolutely disgraceful. It's another reason many in the public don't trust us. Reluctantly, I have to agree with them.

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I had the same reaction. Shut up. JAS

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Spot on👍. Thanks centering this Dave. And this was CNN - not FOX!!

Grateful for our Iowa laws on jury privacy. (And I am needing some positivity regarding Iowa laws ☹️)

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Agree!

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Re the correction in the email version - I was hoping the juror was from Georgia. In that case the crack Trump legal team might have accepted him thinking he was from the shadow of Russia out there in the Caucasus, and not the Peach State.

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Way to go Dave. This seems to me to come fairly close to jury intimidation or tampering, And I'm sorry, it's jury selection, not The Dating Game.

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Dave, the report you cited is appalling.

I haven't been in the news biz for more than 30 years, but I can't believe we would ever have aired that kind of detail back in the day.

You've been a TV news executive. What kind of professional pressures would prompt a CNN producer and/or reporter to do this? This is s exactly why trust in media is next to nill.

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The number of alternates should be larger. I fear/imagine several jurors will become ill once the trolling and harassment sinks in.

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I totally agree! One juror has requested to leave already because enough information was given to possibly identify her, and she was afraid for her family. What the ...? Is the primary interest in ratings over shadowing common sense now?

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Saw it too and was amazed because so much had already been said about NYC being a “small town” where people were identifiable without too many clues. Thanks for underlining this violation of ethics.

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