High-profile Florida prosecutor bashes the media, says she doesn’t read newspapers
The high-profile Florida state attorney who prosecuted George Zimmerman says she doesn’t read newspapers because “my people tell me what I need to know.”
State Attorney Angela Corey expressed her views at a luncheon in Jacksonville last week, the Florida Times-Union reports. Despite shunning newspapers, Corey had an opinion on the Florida Times-Union coverage of her actions in the Zimmerman case. Corey said its stories were too harsh, though most of the coverage came from the Associated Press, the Times-Union says.
The Times-Union said Corey had “sharp words for the media during the luncheon,” often beginning her responses to questions with something along the lines of, “The media doesn’t tell you this, but … .”
Corey also said the media should not be allowed to report on evidence that will not be heard by a jury. “The public doesn’t need to know anything about a case before it goes to trial,” she said. She pointed in particular to media reporting on text messages never introduced in the trial of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the death of Trayvon Martin.
The Times-Union story had suggested Corey said the media shouldn’t be allowed to report on high-profile cases because of the disclosure of evidence that isn’t heard by a jury. Corey’s office gave the Washington Post a statement saying she “has no problem with the media reporting on what happens in court or what is filed in a motion. ” Her concern, the statement said, is that the state’s public records law allows the release of information that will never be presented to jurors and will affect the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
