Oscar Pistorius

Even the trial is being televised on BBC and SKY news , I too ask why all this coverage

It's the usual obsession with 'celebrities'. The TV. Editors and producers are tunnel visioned. We do not want to watch this or any other celebrity event.

Paddy Power is accepting bets re his guilt and I believe offering money back if he walks free, which I find distasteful.

That's sleazy.

At least all of the publicity will [hopefully] mean that there's less chance of him hiring a good lawyer and getting away with, well, murder.

They cannot televise trials in this country. They want to see if it is worthwhile trying to get the government to allow it by law?
If nobody watches it, they will not bother trying to get the law changed.

Only part of the Oscar Pistorius trial is being televised. Probably the more boring parts!

Scotland can televise trials at the Judge's discretion, although it rarely happens, and Court of Appeal hearings have been televised in England recently.

I think that maybe S Africa is keen to show the world that justice will be done [whatever the outcome] by making the trial transparent. Pistorious is a national hero over there, so a lot of people thought that he would get off lightly.It's a tragedy for both the families.

I'm always unsure about defendants even being named until they are found guilty so to splash someone's face all over the press and TV really is too far for me.

I listened to a bit of it this morning, when the woman from the next complex of houses gave evidence. Unfortunately bringing much of it to the world in English will be lost in translation. The witness gave evidence in Afrikaans, but the translator did not always get it right (e.g. the woman said in Afrikaans, "the screams were so intense they made my blood run cold" and the translator translated as "the screams left me cold" which is a completely different meaning. And then the witness was actually correcting the translator at some points! Another example, witness said she then fell back into a fitful sleep - which was translated as a "I had a confused night". Dreadful.

I wonder whether Oscar will give his evidence in Afrikaans? He is clearly from an Afrikaans speaking family but went to an English school (Pretoria Boys High).

I have misgivings about televising trials, it all feels a bit like we should get our our knitting, and sit at the foot of the guillotine. It seems likely that this will become more, not less common.

Tegan, it looks as though he as hired a very good defence lawyer.

So far as MarionH's uncertainty about 'defendants even being named until they are found guilty", I don't see the relevance of that suggestion in this case. Oscar P admits he shot Reve S, his defence is that he thought she was an intruder. What would be the point of not naming him?

Thank goodness they seem to have widened their brief, probably found out viewers switched off in droves earlier today.

POGS I think that it is considered newsworthy here because he was the first to use those leg/feet things and so became very well known. I think I've got that right.

SA made the decision to televise but it is up to us if we choose to watch or not. I don't do daytime TV so will only get the bits that make the news at 1000.

OH and I wanted the latest update on the serious situation in Ukraine. What did we get, saturation coverage about a murder trial that neither of us gives a toss about! and lets face it in the way of things is not important - murder trials happen all the time, what on earth makes this one so special? Needless to say, we turned it off!

nellie there was extensive coverage on the Ukraine situation on the BBC News channel, including a good summary of how it has come about, I found that very interesting.

Granted, it was the second item, after the report on the Pistorius trial. Of course the Pistorius trial is going to attract international interest, I understand that. I don't agree with it being televised though.

Both televising trials and taking bets on them is turning them into entertainment. Not appropriate. A young woman died in violent circumstances. A young man stands to lose his freedom. This is not entertainment, even if those involved had careers in entertainment.