The media has also tended to want to make a story, rather than report on the facts. In many situations such as court cases the rules and procedures do not allow balanced reporting. Often a police press conference announces the case, the prosecution only saying anything at committal stages, and this often being very different from their actual case presented later. Cases also start with an outline of the case by the prosecution, which again has little to do with the facts and is more of a personal attack on the defendant. The public unfortunately believe that the judge would not allow the prosecution to say clearly dishonest things, but this is not the case.
Character assassination is the first stage of most trials and is the part most fully reported.