Media / Media Bias

The media’s obsession with Karla

By Arthur Weinreb

It is an indisputable fact that Monday’s release from prison of Karla Homolka on the last day of her 12 year sentence for two counts of manslaughter was a newsworthy event. In addition to the end of the jail term for Canada’s most notorious female inmate, Homolka, by instructing her lawyers to go to court in an attempt to prohibit the media from reporting anything about her while she herself ran to a studio to do a television interview, added to the necessary media coverage.

Notwithstanding the intense interest in Homolka’s release and subsequent plans, the media appears to have gone overboard in their coverage of the schoolgirl killer. While being interviewed by Joyce Napier on RDI, the interviewer asked Homolka what the first thing was that she wanted to after she was released was (a strange question since Homolka was already doing what she first wanted to do). Karla, with a grin and the cute little giggle that won the hearts of prosecutors and the former Attorney-General of Ontario more than 12 years ago, replied that she wanted to go to Tim Horton’s for an iced cappuccino, a product that the company began to market halfway through her incarceration.

A Lexis Nexis search between July 4 and the morning of July 7 showed 35 hits for articles containing the phrases "Karla Homolka" and "Tim Horton’s". Amongst those articles was one that quoted so-called experts who said that simple things are what most released convicts miss while they are on the inside. In prison, Karla was never deprived of fashion shows, parties or an active sex life so it does seem reasonable that she missed an iced cap. It would hardly be surprising if Corrections Canada is holding meetings right now to have inmate-run Tim Horton franchises put inside of federal institutions along with the inmate-run tattoo parlours.

One article that appeared in the National Post ran comments from Tim Horton’s as well as a couple of marketing professors that all said, surprise, surprise, that they didn’t think Homolka’s comments would have an adverse impact on the company’s business. Paul Brent, the writer, must really think that Canadians are stupid to even suggest that some of them would give up their "double doubles" simply because Karla wants to have an ice cappuccino.