The effect of the media on court cases

The work of media research student Cristina Aniceto examines the presentation of parties to a legal dispute in the newspapers Blick and Tages-Anzeiger. The focus is on sensationalization in the media on the one hand and the increasing professionalization of public relations work on the part of the parties to the dispute and their lawyers (litigation PR) on the other. 207 articles in the Tages-Anzeiger and Blick newspapers were examined over a period of one year as part of the empirical survey. The study clearly shows that professional PR work has a strong influence on reporting. What does this mean for court proceedings? Public prosecutors and judges can be influenced by the media. A study from Germany already shows the extent to which this influence can take place: the media response to a court case can determine the sentence.Litigation PRLitigation PR is the name of the young discipline that has emerged from crisis communication. It encompasses the communication management of organizations before, during and after a legal dispute with their stakeholders. It has become increasingly important in connection with court reporting. This is because the damage to an organization's image can often be much higher than the actual amount in dispute. The aim of strategic media work is to ensure that the court proceedings have a positive impact on the verdict and the reputation of the parties involved in the proceedings. litigation PR has been practiced professionally in the USA since the 1980s. At the turn of the millennium, this discipline found its way into England, Germany and, in recent years, Switzerland.Goals of litigation PRLitigation PR aims on the one hand to influence the course of the process through targeted media work in favor of the client. On the other hand, the client's image should be protected from negative media coverage in connection with the dispute. Litigation PR uses all the sub-disciplines of PR, but in a separate order and focused on the legal field.