SUNNY HOSTIN IN CNN’S NEW YORK CITY STUDIOS.
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or commenting on trials and law has exploded. However, expert and informed legal analysis does exist in the midst of this cacophony if one knows where to look. Asunción “Sunny” Hostin, is
a former federal prosecutor and legal analyst for CNN, contributor for In Session on truTV (formerly Court TV), and has been covering the Trayvon Martin case from the beginning. A veteran legal affairs analyst, Hostin has covered many of the major political and legal stories of today including the Casey Anthony, Conrad Murray, Bernie Madoff, and Elliot Spitzer trials, the Duke University rape case, and more.
Hostin has seen firsthand the
stampeding and emotional rush to judgment before. In her view, what’s important is for viewers to understand the facts as they are uncovered. Ten it is her job, she says, to inform them as to how the law applies to the facts. A journalist’s highest calling is to report the truth without fear or favor. But that doesn’t mean that viewers will necessarily like what they hear. While covering the Casey Anthony
trial, Hostin was the first legal analyst to state on-air that she believed the prosecution had not proved their case and that Anthony would be found not guilty of murdering her two-year- old daughter Caylee. Viewers pelted
Hostin with angry emails claiming she was “pro Casey Anthony.” While she was surprised at the fierce intensity of the backlash, Hostin stood firm. “I call it like I see it,” she says. Hostin says she also received
“wonderfully supportive” emails from other legal analysts and reporters in the television industry praising her for being fair and unbiased. She sees the same level of passion at work in the Martin case. “People feel strongly and [the
Martin case] has become part of the national discourse, which I think is a good thing,” says Hostin, who appreciates that people are interested in the case and talking about the law,
A TRUE LEGAL JOURNALIST, IT IS IMPORTANT TO HEAR ALL SIDES.” – SUNNY HOSTIN
MCCA.COM JULY/AUGUST 2012 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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