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The only possible excuse for deciding to lead with Michael Nifong's resignation as District Attorney of Durham NC was that the networks had an ethical duty to overcompensate after publicizing the false rape charges he leveled against a trio of Duke University lacrosse players. But they had already discharged that obligation when they covered their exoneration in exhaustive detail (text link) in April.
So what was the story? Facing charges of prosecutorial misconduct that may lead to the loss of his license to practice law, Nifong resigned from his elected office, which was not at issue. Nifong's alleged misconduct consisted of prejudicing potential jurors, withholding evidence from defense attorneys and lying to the court. He admitted the first, denied the last and tearfully apologized for the second, explaining that he was overwhelmed with paperwork. NBC's Ron Mott and CBS' Byron Pitts were sent to North Carolina to attend the hearings. ABC's Jim Avila covered them from New York.
NBC's overcoverage extended to anchor Holt's q-&-a with MSNBC's legal eagle Dan Abrams (at the tail of the Mott videostream). Abrams explained that Nifong's admittedly inflammatory comments on the courthouse steps may also have been defamatory. He predicted a civil lawsuit from the exonerated former defendants.
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