Usually when charged with a crime, a suspect will be put on trial in a courtroom with either a jury, judge(s) or both. This has been a staple of the United States' justice system since the beginning and is prevalent in other countries.
This was exemplified in the 1937 movie "They Won't Forget". In this movie, the media impacts the results of a trial multiple times.
Toward the beginning, the reporter and district attorney strike an exclusive deal. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but they ended up working together so much to skew it to what they wanted the result to b that it came to fruition.
A short time later, the reporter broke the law by basically breaking in and stealing from the Hale's house and unethically interviewing and using Hale's information. Then as the case drew national attention, large news companies pushed a north v. south narrative that made people feel a certain way before Hale was given a fair trial.
In the end, this media narrative combined with the reporter and DA deal led to Hale being convicted by public opinion before being given a chance to have his fair day in court.
This led to those believing he was innocent or guilty being divided by race because there were racial tensions in California at the time, but also they emphasized how one of the officers was racist.
The media coverage skewed the publics opinion and this in turn trickled to the jury's decision to acquit him even though there was much evidence to convict him.
In conclusion, the media's role is to hold those in power accountable and report the unbiased facts, but this is becoming less so with people looking for popularity and ratings.
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