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Saturday night’s controversial verdict in the George Zimmerman trial was the major topic on broadcast and cable network morning shows Sunday.
On Today, Lester Holt, Jenna Wolfe and legal analyst Lisa Bloom opened the show, with Holt noting that weekend co-anchor Erica Hill was off. After quickly briefing the audience on the news about the Zimmerman verdict and the death of Glee star Cory Monteith, the show focused its initial coverage on Zimmerman.
After a briefing on the decision and reaction from correspondents in Sanford, Fla., Holt interviewed Trayvon Martin‘s family’s attorney Benjamin Crump, who said the family was heartbroken but trying to make sense of the decision.
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Crump said the family was not yet thinking about filing a civil suit.
Bloom, who said she understood that a civil action had already been filed, focused on what happened during the trial that might have led the jury to reach Saturday’s verdict.
NBC also cut to David Gregory on the Meet the Press set, who speculated on whether Obama would comment on the decision.
Monteith’s death was briefly discussed, and by the end of the show, the hosts had moved on to other topics, such as the impending arrival of the royal baby.
Meet the Press featured the Rev. Al Sharpton and NBC News legal analyst Savannah Guthrie discussing the verdict.
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Sunday’s edition of Good Morning America featured legal analysis from Dan Abrams and coverage from Sanford as well as a discussion of potential next steps.
CBS didn’t pre-empt its Sunday Morning show, which featured segments on topics like 3D printing and pollution. But, the network did cut in to report on the Zimmerman verdict.
The three major cable networks (CNN, Fox News and MSNBC) continued their focus on Zimmerman.
On CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, she discussed the verdict with representatives from the congressional black and Hispanic caucuses and covered the reaction to the verdict in Sanford.
MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki featured a panel debate on the verdict and the public’s reaction featuring Marc Morial of the National Urban League; former prosecutor and defense attorney Seema Iyer, Virginia state delegate Charniele Herring and Maya Wiley, from the Center for Social Inclusion.
Fox News’ Sunday edition of Fox & Friends explored how the defense proved Zimmerman was not guilty and featured guest commentary from Judge Alex Ferrer.
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