HLN rides Casey Anthony trial to best ratings month ever in June
I have to admit. I have spent virtually no time on the Casey Anthony trial. I’m not even sure why this is getting so much attention compared to many other criminal trials but it clearly has appeal among a subset of women viewers, especially fans of Nancy Grace.
Atlanta-based HLN has been taking full advantage of the trial, providing expansive coverage during the day and into the evening hours.
The windfall: big ratings, relatively speaking. Viewership began climbing once the trial began in late May. Its June ratings were its strongest ever in total viewers, behind only Fox News and ahead of sister station CNN and MSNBC. During the day, it averaged 601,000 viewers vs. 303,000 in June, 2010. In primetime, it averaged 982,000 viewers vs. 592,000 in June, 2010.
Nancy Grace, who contemptuously calls Anthony “tot mom,” pulled in a record 1.5 million viewers per night in June, 80 percent more than a year earlier.
On Wednesday, when the defense called its final witnesses, HLN beat all cable news networks among 25 to 54 year olds full day and primetime. It averaged 357,000 all day 25-54, its best numbers in that demo since it moved to long-form programming in 2005. Nancy Grace pulled in 676,000 viewers among 25 to 54 year olds, the most since January 7, 2009, another day in which she discussed the case.
The numbers today will likely be even bigger, given that the verdict was announced. (Anthony was not guilty of the main first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter charges. “Tot mom’s lies seem to have worked,” Grace said.)
I am working on a weekly print column about HLN’s coverage and will provide more information later this week.
Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
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251 comments Add your comment
Bigboy
July 5th, 2011
5:46 pm
So in essence you are saying that all 12 people on the jury saw things you didn’t?
GT4EVER
July 5th, 2011
5:48 pm
What did I tell you folks?Please continue Ed
Bigboy
July 5th, 2011
5:52 pm
Those 12 people didn’t know that woman.They had nothing to gain setting her free.I bet if you or one of your family members were ever charged with something they didn’t do… you would be singing an entirely different tune.
Stella
July 5th, 2011
6:01 pm
Today we have no common sense – 1 + 1 could equal 3 and we could argue that if one was pregnant!! If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck – normally it is a duck. We can never again rely on common sense… this girl was guilty of something…the child was in her custody! She is responsible for Caylee – now she needs to tell us what really happened…
HLN get these defense lawyers off the tube… quit giving them free advertising… We need to get integrity back into the justice system. AND she’s still a duck…guilty of something. Spin doctors win!
Bigboy
July 5th, 2011
6:07 pm
I thought the jury found her guilty of lying to investigators.At the same time they didn’t equate that to murder.
joechalk
July 5th, 2011
6:09 pm
http://www.chalkreport.com
Bobbie
July 5th, 2011
6:10 pm
No Bigboy I wouldn’t; guilty is guilty, and guilty is as guilty does; family or stranger. The jurors knew her from sitting in the courtroom with her day after day. Poor, young, attractive girl. And, as for your first remark: no, I’m saying they didn’t see ANYTHING. If they had the verdict would be different. Sorry to say you are in the minority in the way the world is thinking. Those that followed and did pay attention know the way it went down. Wonder why the jurors don’t want to talk and give their reasons?
Bigboy
July 5th, 2011
6:17 pm
That don’t want to be attacked by nut jobs and lunatics who have no clue what happened.I also doubt the majority of people see it your way either.It’s extremely hard to take 12 people from different walks of life and ethenicities to agree 12-0 on anything.It’s rather delusional to think you know more than they do based off of what you saw on tv.According to Nancy Grace the prosecutors had the perfect jury and there was no doubt they would find her guilty.This just goes to show you that just because you are on tv…it doesn’t mean you know what you are talking about.There is a reason they are on tv to begin with.
Jimmy
July 5th, 2011
6:26 pm
You people who go for this entire “prove beyond a reasonable doubt” garbage are LOVED by defense attorneys. They hire people who specifically look for you idiots, when picking jurrors.
Sometimes COMMON SENSE should prevail. Let’s take a look at the facts that nobody from either side disputes from a COMMON SENSE point of view.
1.) Caylee went missing in June of 08 and her mom was out partying, getting tatoo’s that in Italian translate to “good life.” What mom wouldn’t report her child missing after 30 minutes, much less 30 days??
2.) When her mom wanted to see her grand daughter, Casey told her that she was with 2 people who NEVER existed; a nanny and a boyfriend in Tampa. She also lied to police about a job working at Universal Studios that she NEVER had.
3.) After a tow yard called George and told them Casey’s car had been impounded, they find a “decomposing” smell in the back that smelled of a dead body. Do you really buy the defense’s version that it was from a bag of garbage? How long would a bag of garbage have to be in the back of your car before it starts to smell like a dead body??
4.) Authorities discovered that she had visited web sites about chloroform. But the defense says it was her mom. Yeah ok.
5.) You believe the defense’s version that George found Cayleigh dead in their pool, decided to bound her mouth w/ duct tape and dump her in the woods a few miles away?? WHO WOULD MAKE AN ACCIDENTAL DEATH LOOK LIKEA MURDER ANYWAY??
So anything short of DNA evidence and/or a confession and a murderer should walk? Is that what youre saying??
COMMON SENSE goes a long way in life for you that believe she’s innocent. Sometimes 2 + 2 really does = 4.
Bigboy
July 5th, 2011
6:30 pm
And the 12 jurors saw and heard everything you just wrote Jimmy and still voted 12-0 to aquitt.This must have been the biggest conspiracy in the history of America.
SuperB
July 5th, 2011
6:33 pm
Donald Trump said today, “it was not a jury of MY peers.” Well, the jury that found Casey Anthony not guilty WAS a jury of HER peers– just like O. J. Simpson. Now Jose Baez will become the white Johnnie Cochran. The first thing he will do is sue Nancy Grace, about the same time as he sues the State of Florida on Anthony’s behalf.
Jimmy
July 5th, 2011
6:39 pm
Bigboy,
It’s not a conspiracy.I never said it was. The defense team did a much better job than the prosecution in picking jurrors. They picked 12 idiots is what they did. While the prosecution was presenting facts, the defense team presented a smoke screen(what does George allegedly molesting Casey have to do w/ this trial?), and the 12 idiots bought it.
That’s why defense lawyers make what they do, and prosecutors make what they do. Our justice system has NOTHING to do with justice, as this(and many other) trial has shown.
Jimmy
July 5th, 2011
6:42 pm
This entire “beyond a reasonable doubt” burden of proof HAS to be lowered. I mean you, as a jurror, could be sitting there thinking, “Well all the circumstantial evidence leads to her being guilty, but since there is no DNA evidence or a confession I have to vote not guilty.”
How stupid is that? Always go w/ your first instict and use common sense in situations like this.
justice
July 5th, 2011
6:54 pm
LMAO, HLN are 12 angry anchors, they are witch hunters, playing of the emotions of rubs that believer everyone is guilty until proven idiots. Thank god the jurors had some sense and didn’t listen to this McCarthyism lies that the Witch Hunters on HLN put out. So funny that she’s innocent and HLN convicted her from day 1.
thetruth
July 5th, 2011
6:59 pm
wow
MAJ
July 5th, 2011
7:06 pm
Justice HAS NOT BEEN served for that precious little child! Who in their right mind would party and wait 31 days before reporting a missing 2 year old?
thetruth
July 5th, 2011
7:07 pm
okay..justice….this country is full of bs
Jimmy
July 5th, 2011
7:30 pm
Who cares about Nancy Grace and the media?! This story is about a beautiful baby girl who was MURDERED!
For all of you big mouthed morons who are so sure that Casey is innocent, I bet you would be singing a different tune if Cayleigh were your daughter.
greg
July 5th, 2011
8:00 pm
I personally belive that casey is dirty, however ,i watched this trial and keep waiting for proof and it never came, its a shame that the prosecution didnot do their job. everyone wants to scream what is wrong with the jury , they looked at the evidence and ruled correctly, after watching this trial i know as much about how she died as i did when it started nothing, no cod, no proof casey did the search on computer, if the girl was in the car ,no proof casey put here there or drove the car with her in it, come on prosecution give me something, i think she did it but i would not have been able to convict and thats with seeing the coverage that the jury never saw. to quote unquote experts shut up !!!! quit blaming the jury, saying they didnt deliberate long enough, or they were tired and wanted to go home, what your doing is wrong and does a diservice to the legal system, your helping to create an environment that will get an innocent person convected, the law is to decided without emonition based strictly on the facts and evidence not on weather you like aor hate someone. the one to blame here is the prosecution they didnt do thier job very well
Dee
July 5th, 2011
8:09 pm
The jury wanted to go home & they didn’t give a damn about
what the prosecution spelled out for them. They definitely
had no feelings for Caylee. I hope their verdict will haunt
them till they die, that they let a killer (Casey Anthony)
go free.
Mary
July 5th, 2011
9:13 pm
I bet Casey Anthony thinks of the Jury as S T U P I D when she heard
the verdict, “Not Guilty”. The jury should be embarrassed! Caylee got
no justice, all because of a stupid jury. The jury was not listening
to the prosecution. All the jury wanted was to go home.
Gary
July 5th, 2011
9:24 pm
I guess if you put 12 idiots on the jury, you get and idiot verdict. Now we can hope the guilt of this will follow them for the rest of their lives, as it will with Casey and we can only hope she uses the Chloroform on herself. No tears if she does.
Paul Cooley
July 5th, 2011
10:22 pm
Why didn’t law enforcement follow up on Kronk’s finding of a body and notifying law enforcement about his discovery? He contacted police 3 or 4 different times and nobody followed up with his discovery until December, after the body laid there for several more months. By that time, the body had completely decomposed, with nothing left but dry bones. Why the delay in law enforcement following up on his discovery? Explain this to me, if you can. Thank you.
kitkatwells
July 6th, 2011
12:07 am
guilty based on the facts caylee is passed and no longer with us
Pat
July 6th, 2011
5:04 am
About Casey Anthony
I know you probably will not put this on the air, but I feel that something needs to be said about your conduct on the air. I don’t know if Casey Anthony guilty or not, but she was judged by a jury and found not guilty. But you continue to allow her to be assassinated on public television. You and your entourage, because the verdict did not go the way you wanted it too you continue to do your best to turn the public against her and her family. Should anything happen to her or her family you personally can take credit for it. Because you and your cohorts shown prejudiced throughout the trial and continue to try to prove her guilty regardless of what the jury said, It is my opinion that all of you and your ex prosecutors are ones that should be on trial for character assassination or worst . The jury was given sole responsibility for the fate of Casey Anthony and yet you take it upon yourself to be a judge and jury. Should sometime in the future it is proven that somebody else killed Caylee Anthony, I wonder if you will spend as much time undoing the harm have done or will you just brush and under the rug. I think somebody should be punished for the death of Caylee Anthony, but because you continue to point the finger at Casey Anthony it is my opinion that the police will not continue looking elsewhere for the possibility that someone else may have killed Caylee Anthony.
Pat
Connie
July 6th, 2011
7:40 am
THe Defense was allowed by the Judge to assert a false defense . This is Judge error to allow this bias
and prejudice to the Jury of claiming a drowning death and grandfather molesting . No question the Jury were dummies ,but that is what the Defense was hoping for . Don’t call this Justice .
Laura
July 6th, 2011
8:17 am
I guarantee you that if the jury sat through the trial, stayed sequestered and then gave their verdict, seperately, it would have been a completely different outcome. Understand that I went into this trial knowing three things. She has been in jail, the baby is dead and the baby was found near the home. I watched the entire trial, start to finish, and the people that honestly believe that this woman had nothing to do with the death of this child are out of your minds. She was responsible for the safety of this child and she should be made to pay for this death. If it was an accident, which I do not believe, then why not say it? She had plenty of opportunities to admit to an accident. To the people that honestly believe she does not know what happened to Caylee, you are crazy. IT IS common sense that should tell you that she should know. What person can go 31 days and not know where their child is? What mother could go 5 minutes?? I am dumbfounded by the people that honestly believe in her innocence. If you agree, then agree that the legal system did correctly by following the rules of reasonable doubt, but there’s no way you can sleep at night and believe that she was not involved. A child was found decomposed in a swamp and nobody will pay for it and if you agree that that, shame on you. She is a disgrace of a mother and I will not even call her that. Go ahead and cheer and be happy that she is free and verdict of not guilty was arrived. People that are doing this are as disgraceful as the outcome of this trial.
JackDennis
July 6th, 2011
8:28 am
How can people watch Nancy Grace? Seriously.
Pete
July 6th, 2011
9:02 am
How Caylee died? that is my Question!
Pete
July 6th, 2011
9:08 am
The State fail to act in August 2008…the first 911 call…
Pete
July 6th, 2011
9:17 am
I believe that N.G. is making money with this case ( like any other commercial station )
patty
July 6th, 2011
10:05 am
i hope she drops dead her and the jury she is a killer and a thief and a slut she will now go sleep with her head lawyer thats a fact i hope some one kills her when she comes out what a actress.
patty
July 6th, 2011
10:08 am
everything nancy grace says is a fact nancy is such a wonderful caring woman go d bless nancy always patty
carlos cruz
July 6th, 2011
11:54 am
she is evil……she is guilty of murder!
Maria
July 6th, 2011
12:13 pm
I truly believe that these jurors knew that if they came with anything else than not guilty they would continue to be sequestered and they apparently knew that a not guilty would allow them to go home. they deliberately gave a not guilty just so they can go home. they did not go through any evidence or review anything all they wanted was to go home and the only way to ensure that was to give a not guilty. they should go to jail for not doing their duty as it is suppose to be….. the evidence was there, they just wanted to go home regardless of what this was all about Caley…
tina elton
July 6th, 2011
1:24 pm
i would like to give my thoughts i have followed this case from the beginning. its hard to stop and think and look out of the box. but people come on now. my theroy is cassy is young the child did drown in the pool the dad blamed cassy. cassy panic and ran. george and cindy panic and it snowballed out of control. i think it really happened like that. look at george anthony eyes hes not trust worthy and remember no one knows and will never know what happen. but stop and think the meter man had more to do with it. please yall tell the public to stop let the girl go on with her life. she been in jail for three years. it was the right decission. things happen that cant think something like this would happen but face it. it did. and george anthony needs to just admit it tell the truth. cassy would never take cher child body put it in garabage bags no mother could do that especially at her age. come on now. everyone needs to think out of the box please. thank you please get this message across to the public. the public has gone crazy someone needs to speak up for cassey. she cant help she has crazy parents and they are. she lied in jail about the drowing because it was all a cover up she had been drilled by her parents to do this. please someone speak up for cassey. thank you. tina in alabama
tanyafraga
July 6th, 2011
1:24 pm
i think our so called justice system is a joke !!! she can kill her child an walk away scott free our justice system haha a joke. an those stupid stupid jurors there a joke to .i think casey should get what she gave to her daughter an maybe somone out there will give her some justice. an those jurors i hope they can lay down every knight an sleep good after letting that killer go free an now maybe she can get rich over killing her daughter.thanks to those jurors.we might as well let all child killers go free wouldnt that be fair?why let one go an not the rest? we want to be fair dont we ? this country is the only country that would let somone get away with that.god help us all !!!
beverly albo
July 6th, 2011
1:47 pm
Its a shame the jury was selected from a pool of idiots. Why did they let people who had questionable backgrounds decide such an important case? I believe Pinallis County must be full of nit wits.
gloria green
July 6th, 2011
1:50 pm
Here is a firm example of how far a psychopathic liar can, with representation, go in our judical system. This woman needs clinical help before she is let loose on our society. I pray she does not become a role model for the dysfunctional in our mist, who want to change their lifestyles at the expense of eliminating the only true and innocents in their lives,their children. Casey Caylee is watching……
Leo
July 6th, 2011
1:54 pm
Who speaks for Caylee now? What does the police do now and if Casey was the last to see Caylee and nobody said that Caylee ever came back home, can anything be done to anyone to find the answer?
Lori
July 6th, 2011
2:01 pm
This is so sad and disturbing to me. I can’t imagine a mom doing such selfish acts including the lies that she mastered in those 31 days. She obviously does not have a faith. If she is truly guilty then i do believe that the man up stairs will take over from here. she will struggle and it won’t be easy,because our beloved caylee will be calling out. This beautiful child is and was a product of our beautiful creator and he should be the one that caysee should fear. RIP caylee you now have your wings
left/right? i care
July 6th, 2011
2:16 pm
wow, wow, wow. rodney you must still be celebrating the fourth, because you have not stepped in here–unless i missed it amongst all of the fevered, angry comments.’readers’ and commentors: rodney ho is NOT nancy grace in drag!! you are leaving nasty comments to HER on HIS blog. just because her picture is larger, it does not mean that she wrote this article. and for those of you that follow her, oh my gosh, that totally explains the horrible spelling and language usage, yeah, im on a soap box about that today, because you guys are crawling through all of the cracks. she has been deemed not guilty. anyone deemed not guilty cannot be accused of the same crime again. they can be arrested and charged, but the verbiage has to be completely different. you people that are complaining over the verdict and watching nancy grace will be the same people to make the mother rich by buying her book so you can COMPLAIN about her lies.
FreeTrials
July 6th, 2011
2:32 pm
I think Casey Anthony might have legal grounds to sue the networks for what they have done to her. If she does it, it just might stop the convicting someone before trial mentality which is as we watch, hurting our justice system.
If I were the jury, I would hire a collective attorney to represent the 12. That way, if they ever speak about the case they will not be trapped into making a simple misstatement that the media and State could try to use to throw out their decision.
They have acted very responsibly in avoiding the media which has NO right to hear from them. The media that has trashed them since the verdict. If anyone should get an interview it should be either Geraldo and/or Hannity who have supported their right to view the evidence in their own personal way, which is the LAW. Still, I would have an attorney present.
Dottie
July 6th, 2011
2:44 pm
What makes anyone believe that Caylee’s body was in the woods when they searched the first time. If the Anthony’s was in on it, the body would have placed in the woods after they knew it had been searched. George was a detective. I know detective’s have their connections. I knew when George and Cindy testified, reasonable doubt would result in a not guilty verdict.
marlene hammack
July 6th, 2011
2:53 pm
This is complicated, as in most of life there is a lot af gray area. Using “smellavision” could be construed as ‘junk science. I think alot of citizens want a “smokin gun”. And that was not present. In this country we do not convict people on internet searches. I think lawyers are a little naive. Are they vunerable to hackers and identity theft as the rest of folks? Remember the sting operations, trying to convict molesters because of what they might do? They thought they were talking to a 13 year old, but in fact it was an 18 or older. You can not be convicted for what you thought you were doing , but what you really did. I know something bad happened to that darling child. But if our judicial system hinges on smells, internet seaches, and people that lie; known lots of liers in my life but it was usually a family tradition. If in this country what we look at on the internet: what’s next? The IRS telling what we owe because they checked out our computer?
Kelli
July 6th, 2011
3:12 pm
I recently served on a hung jury and I must say that I was amazed at the people who could not follow basic testimony, understand basic science, and use COMMON SENSE. I actually had to argue with people on my jury that common sense could be used in order to come to a verdict. Several in the group wanted to argue that it was against the law to use common sense! The man on trial was so obviously guilty of arson and attempted murder based on his own testimony that I couldn’t believe there were people who would not convict. They kept talking about the lack of “physical evidence”. I saw plenty of physical evidence because I UNDERSTOOD the science when several of the others didn’t get it. This is the same argument I’m hearing from so many people out there who were obviously not able to connect the dots on this trial. Circumstantial evidence IS evidence. I guess you must now video-tape a murder or tweet “hey, I’m committing a murder now” in order to ever be judged guilty of what would have been a slam dunk guilty verdict 50 years ago. People in our society have been watching too many movies and TV shows and they expect things to be nicely packaged and easy to follow just like on TV. Real life is more complicated than that.
The majority of us on the jury I was on could see that the guy was guilty, so we stuck to our beliefs and sent the whole thing back to the judge as a mistrial. Another jury found him guilty on all counts. I have to believe that there must have been at least a few on the Casey Anthony jury who could see her guilt. They may not have known that they could send it back as a hung jury or maybe they just didn’t want to take the time. A little instruction on basic legal procedures wouldn’t hurt. Jury instruction isn’t enough. Many people don’t even understand the meaning of some of the basic words in the indictments, much less what you can and cannot do in a jury deliberation.
I am a teacher and I have seen many degrees of intelligence in every class I’ve ever taught and our general society is about the same. I have seen brilliant students and unfortunately those who can’t pass a test even if you give them the answers. Some are just smarter than others. Teachers can’t make people smarter than their genetics will allow. I’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings or anything. This is just a fact.
The problem with our judicial system today is that more often than not the most intelligent members of our society try to get out of jury duty because intelligent people are too busy and they don’t want to be bothered with sitting on a jury. The intellectually weaker elements of society are left on their own to figure things out in the area of justice in our legal system and they often don’t pay attention to evidence because they don’t understand it and probably never will. They are inattentive in court just like they are in class in high school. They are offended when others try to point out what they don’t understand and they dig in their heals and refuse to be educated about the reality or truth of circumstances beyond their grasp.
The bottom line is that the jury selection process needs to be modified so that the smart people don’t feel like they have to maneuver themselves out of it and lawyers should not be allowed to strike jurors because they are too knowledgeable in certain areas. Perhaps they should assign people a week every few years to serve and give them a year’s notice so that they don’t schedule vacations or big business meetings at that time. This would allow doctors and other professionals the time to plan for the possibility of serving on a jury. In addition, I have been called for jury duty at least a dozen times. I have served on two juries. I know people who have voted for years and have never once been called for jury duty. Everyone should be called. Maybe assigning a jury duty time for everyone would make it more fair and we would receive a better cross section of society. This would also probably eliminate the possibility of being called every year like I am.
It’s too bad about poor little Caylee. It’s obvious to me that her own mom killed her. I can assure you that we would still be sitting in that jury room if I was on that jury or we would be talking about a mistrial and a new trial. There is no way I would have walked out of that room and heard the words NOT GUILTY. This group didn’t even review any of the evidence and according to the observers, they didn’t even take notes. Not a good sign.
Kay
July 6th, 2011
3:13 pm
I was shocked to hear the verdict yesterday. All the jury wanted was to go home. They did not want work very hard on this case. They were tired of it and they didn’t care what happened to Caylee. Casey Anthony was
very jealous of her beautiful daughter. Jealous people can be very dangerous. Casey wanted all of the attention and she was tired of sharing the attention with her daughter. Caylee was in her way. Casey
was a party girl, but a horrible mother. She has no remorse for her
daughter. All she cares about is herself.
vala elisabeth
July 6th, 2011
3:16 pm
Our justice system works and we must not become the mob who seeks to destroy “the monster”. Justice has been served as well as possible. Each of us faces our own truth eventually. Justice and truth are not avoidable for any of us.
Had I been the prosecution, I would have caught on to “Zanny” the babysitter long ago. Perhaps they did and reached a dead end. Zanny is I am quite certain, zanex. She dosed her child with zanex and the child died. How, when and who knew what, is the question. I intuitively feel this is a fact that was overlooked. Did it not occur to George and Cindy that Zanny was zanex? Unfortunately, that term is heard quite often among drug users from every social class. Ask ten random people if they have a zanny, see what happens.
David Katz
July 6th, 2011
3:49 pm
Obviously the defense came up with Casey’s “accidental drowning” story to trade a murder conviction for lesser charges of a “cover up”. Any parent/adult would have automatically called 911 immediately! Surprisingly it took them nearly 3 yrs to come up with this “new fact” to derail the prosecutors case. Casey’s actions after “the accident” were clearly unconcerned & heinously deplorable.
Linda
July 6th, 2011
4:25 pm
Is it possible that Casey (or whoever) can be brought up on charges by the way the body was disposed of.