Media Coverage of Maya Kowalski Trial Is Dismal

Whoever is operating the pool camera in the Kowalski vs. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital trial needs to be sanctioned. A thorough search of the Sarasota court docket did not find the application for media to cover the trial so it is unclear whether Court TV or Law&Crime network is running the camera . Either way, whichever one it is needs to be admonished harshly by the court. 

The Kowalskis are suing Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH) for false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and medical malpractice among other things. You can read about the trial details in my coverage here. 

Throughout the trial, if 17-year-old Maya Kowalski is in the courtroom, the camera operators focus on her face no matter what is happening in court that should demand the camera’s attention, including Judge Hunter Carroll making rulings or witnesses testifying.

Court TV then takes clips of this bad camerawork and uses it for its social media campaigns.

During the #TakeCareofMayaTrial, the judge had a heated discussion with both attorneys about information not being provided to a witness. Closing arguments are expected to begin tomorrow morning.#CourtTV What do YOU think? ⚖️👇 pic.twitter.com/WAJk0NJ6p4

— Court TV (@CourtTV) November 6, 2023

This exchange should clearly have been focused on the judge and the attorneys who were arguing. Instead, the entire argument went on while the audience had to stare uncomfortably at the victim of JHACH's schemes.

The first few weeks weren’t as bad, especially since Maya was not in the courtroom every day, but this last week has been obnoxious to the point that YouTubers who are streaming the trial, myself included, have begun covering Maya’s face on our streams with memes because it is making the audience so uncomfortable. Not only is it an invasion of a minor’s personal space when she isn’t on the stand, but it makes it very difficult to follow who is testifying or speaking as the cameras refuse to focus on the arguments being made and instead zooms in for closeup shots of Maya or her father Jack.

One doesn’t need to ask why Court TV or Law&Crime does this. They’re in it for the salaciousness. They’ve carried water for JHACH’s position from the beginning, pushing fake news stories about Maya and publishing photos of her they claim mean something (but don't) while completely ignoring JHACH lying to the court and hiding evidence. 

@MeganFoxWriter can you do thug judge to this clip pic.twitter.com/5ffUYexmfM

— Blue in Alabama (@dogsloveoats) November 6, 2023

Is it because Maya is a pretty blonde? Is that why their cameramen refuse to film the proceedings and zoom in on her face instead? Or is it because they don’t want the people watching to be able to focus on the absolute disaster that is the JHACH defense? (Psssst! Hey. folks, the American medical industrial complex is coming apart in front of our eyes! You should be watching this!)

Whatever the outcome of this case, the public has been completely informed of JHACH’s absolute failure to care for the Kowalski family in a time of crisis. We learned that they’re more apt to investigate you for “child abuse” than they are to get to the bottom of what’s wrong with your child. We’ve also seen the results of the Department of Health investigation and the Joint Commission into the hospital that found unsafe and unsanitary conditions, lack of communication leading to the mistreatment of patients, hidden reports of deaths of patients, unsafe oxygen tank storage, and a culture of “retaliation” and “retribution” against whistleblowers.

JHACH is not a safe place for children and families. But despite this nuclear bomb hitting one of the most respected names in medicine, which should have been the focus of Court TV’s or Law&Crime’s coverage, they’re focused on a 17-year-old girl, her facial expressions, and her wardrobe. Pay attention to who helps to cover up for institutional malfeasance. They are the enemy of the People.