Piers Morgan and Toure

     These two major journalistic figures have gotten embroiled in a bit of a brouhaha over the interview Piers conducted Thursday night with George Zimmerman's brother, Robert Zimmerman.

      After Toure and Piers got into it on Twitter when Toure tweeted that Piers did not challenge Zimmerman the way a professional journalist would. Morgan fired back with, "Toure you're such a hideous little twerp."

    Toure complained that "You do serious damage to America when you allow lies about this case to go unchallenged on CNN."

    So tonight they met on CNN. It was a pretty good interview-it was very intense and adversarial. Piers complained bitterly about Toure's accusing him of not being a professional. Toure's felt that he did not question Zimmerman enough and accepted too much-even a claim that George Zimmerman  was not doing the neighborhood watch but on his way to Target's.

   It got pretty rough, and Toure's said that at NBC they are laughing at CNN to give Zimmerman this forum to spread lies. Pierce countered that Toure was not a real journalist, that he is not professional as he's already made up his mind. Piers believes that he was critical of Zimmerman and didn't tell him he agreed with him but simply wanted to get his side of it and that getting Zimmerman was a big story that no real network would turn down.

   Toure then said that Piers didn't get it, that he doesn't appreciate the deep  feelings this touches in the American Psyche, that he's just a Brit after all, when Piers says he's lived here for 7 years, Toure is unimpressed.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AQj_mtR8rg&list...5ko...

    So who wins this grudge match? In some ways I think Toure lets himself get a little sidetracked. It isn't valid to claim that Piers can't get it as a Brit-he has been here a decent amount of time. I'm not sure that it's true that CNN shouldn't have interviewed Zimmerman at all. I agree it's a big story and worth airing as it contains a lot of information that's worth knowing about.

    However, some of Piers knocks on Toure doesn't make much sense either. The fact that it is his opinion that Zimmerman is guilty of murder hardly means he's not a real journalist. There is a rather tiresome narrative that we must not "rush to judgment" and say Zimmerman is guilty too quickly.

   The trouble with that is this has been going on for over a month. There are different levels of assessing guilt. George Zimmerman is entitled to a trial before a fair and impartial jury like anyone else. But there is more than enough information for probable cause which is all you need for an arrest. It does sound to me too like he's probably guilty-I have a hard time buying that he isn't. Again, he deserves a trial. But there must be a trial.

   And Toure is right when he protests that Robert Zimmerman hasn't spoken with Geroge much for years. Yet, Piers tried to protest claiming that Joe Oliver-of all people!-can corroborate that they have been close. Oliver of course himself knows nothing.