Amanda Knox Is Back In The Headlines — But You’ll Never Guess Why
Amanda Knox has been called just about every foul name imaginable by the press over the last few years. During the drawn-out process that eventually led to her murder conviction, Amanda was accused of being HIV-positive, of having had sex with a random man on a train, and even of having — wait for it — bought condoms. The media firestorm around her trial was such a circus that it’s no wonder why Knox has stayed out of the spotlight since finally getting back home to Seattle — but that doesn’t mean that she’s given up on having a normal life.
Though Amanda has been publishing theatre reviews for the West Seattle Herald for a few months now, she has recently begun using her own name. The paper’s web editor, Patrick Robinson, told the Daily Beast that Knox was absolutely not hired based on her notoriety.
“We approached her originally to give her the opportunity of a normal life. We simply asked her as we would ask anyone of that age and stage, if they would be interested in writing for us as a qualified writer of that scale and this level of journalism… That was purposely to give her the protection of that and to give her the opportunity. She showed us writing samples and they were good.”
Robinson went on to say how impressed staff has been with quality of Amanda’s work thus far at the paper. Apart from Knox’s reviews, she has apparently shown an aptitude for photography.
“Amanda’s a very bright, very capable, highly qualified writer. She’s certainly been through as lot and been very easy to work with and very interested and eager in doing stories… It doesn’t matter what people say or think — the truth is that she’s a West Seattle resident, she grew up here. Why not give her the opportunity to be an actual human being versus a celebrity?… It’s really about giving a young, talented writer an opportunity at a normal life.”
Knox isn’t the only one who has moved on to writing projects after the trial. Ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito recently graduated from Verona University with an information technology degree that hinged on a final project where he ran analytics on his own name, how it was used in social media and possible influences it may have had on the outcome of the case. Amanda, who was convicted in absentia, has not returned to the country since her initial release. While Sollecito is currently walking free in Italy, Knox has made a vow to never enter the country again.
The role of the media and specifically social media in the Amanda Knox trial has been written about extensively, both academically and by the media itself. A recent post on GroundReport.com analyzed the way Knox and her ex-boyfriend have been pitted against each other as antagonists in the trial, even when their actions were often to the contrary.
[Image via Flickr]
