One week at the Luigi Mangione media circus

"Despite the endless news coverage, viral memes, and photos seen by millions of people, the group that shows up to hearings has thinned out significantly since the court date in February, when hundreds gathered outside and in the courthouse. There is a small demonstration ramping up, organized by healthcare reform group People Over Profit NYC. I recognize many of the people in line trying to get inside from previous hearings I've attended."

"Meanwhile, actual hoards of reporters and photographers descend upon the Manhattan courthouse. There are far more members of the media here than there are Mangione supporters, with multiple crowded press lines and television crews in tents set up down the block. Photographers set up phones on tripods to livestream the action to fans online. News outlets spin up alliterative, rage-bait headlines. (the New York Post went with "MANGIONE AND THE MANIACS.")"

Several dozen members of the public lined up outside 100 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan to enter the courtroom for witness testimony against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a year earlier. The group showing up to hearings has thinned since February, when hundreds gathered outside and in the courthouse. A small demonstration organized by People Over Profit NYC has formed, and organizers and repeat attendees describe the movement as professionalized, with supporters hiring line-sitters and wearing custom T-shirts. Supporters express suspicion of reporters and when they speak to the press they emphasize staying on message, focusing on a fair trial and framing their presence as protest. Far more reporters and photographers descend on the courthouse, with crowded press lines, television crews in street tents, photographers livestreaming to online audiences, and outlets running sensational, alliterative headlines, creating a stark contrast between protest framing and media spectacle.

Read at The Verge