Mirror, mirror, on the wall... which is the most important trial of all?

The Anwar trial, which has sparked international interest and concern, was still relegated to the inside pages of yesterday’s NST. Simply headlined, “Don’t rely on confession, court told”, the report on page 6 was buried under the "heavyweight" positioning of the other trials of Norrita Samsudin and Canny Ong.

That the trial reports were all on the same page does not necessarily mean that they were all given equal editorial weightage. The positioning of these reports, their length, the photos used and also the kind of headlines - all these make a significant difference to the editorial treatment given to each of these stories.

But even if for one moment we assume that all these trial stories were given equal journalistic treatment by the newspaper concerned, shouldn’t the Anwar trial stand out above the rest given the national and international attention it has generated? Besides, there is also the important political dimension of the Anwar trial that an editor has to consider.

As for The Star, I guess we spoke too soon yesterday. In today's edition, there was not a single report on the Anwar trial. In contrast, the Cannie Ong murder trial appeared on page 10 (down from yesterday's page 6).

Such is the fate of former deputy premier Anwar and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja.