Media Circus ─ A Look at Private Tragedy in the Public Eye

No one understands better than Kim Goldman the complex emotions of individuals suffering a personal tragedy under the relentless gaze of the media. During the famed O.J. Simpson trial, Kim, whose brother, Ron Goldman, was brutally murdered, became a very public poster child for victims suffering in the public eye.

In Media Circus: A Look at Private Tragedy in the Public Eye, Goldmannow a dedicated victim advocateand journalist Tatsha Robertson present the first collective looks at something that has become all too common in America: ordinary, grieving victimsforced to manage their very private trauma and despair in a very public way.

Through candid interviews and detailed, original reporting, Media Circus delivers riveting, humanizing, and inspiring stories from the victims and survivors of violent crimes who found themselves the focus of national media attention. Its heartfelt narratives showcase the unique challenges of coping with and healing from grief when the whole world is watching.

Stories include those of:

Tere Duperrault Fassbender, survivor of family’s brutal murder at sea (1961)
Debra Tate, sister of Charles Manson victim Sharon Tate (1969)
Collene Campbell, sister of murdered NASCAR driver Mickey Thompson (1988)
Judy Shepard, mother of gay hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard (1998)
Mildred Muhammed, wife of the DC Sniper (2002)
Marie Monville, wife of the Amish shooter (2006)
Dave and Mary Neese, parents of teen murder victim Skylar Neese (2012)
Scarlett Lewis, mother of Newtown Tragedy first-grade victim Jesse Lewis (2012)
Shirley Wygal, mother of Aurora theater shooting victim Rebecca Wingo, and Scott and Kathy Larimer, parents of Aurora theater shooting victim John Larimer (2012)
Esaw and Emerald Garner, wife and sister of police brutality victim Eric Garner (2014)

Known nationwide as a victims’ rights advocate after her brother’s murder and the infamous OJ Simpson murder trial,Kim Goldman is the founding Co-Chair of The Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice. She is also the Executive Director of The Youth Project, a non-profit organization that provides free counseling, support groups, crisis intervention, and education and outreach to thousands of teenagers since opening in 2000. In her spare time, Goldman travels the country as an impassioned public speaker on victims’ rights, the role of the media, judicial reform, and other related topics. She is currently a resident of Greater Los Angeles, where she has lived for thirteen years, and a single parent. See more online at KimberlyGoldman.com.

Former magazine editor Tatsha Robertson is an award-winning editor and writer with more than twenty years of experience handling investigative, feature, and news stories for leading magazines and newspapers. As the first female NYC Bureau Chief and National Rover for The Boston Globe, she covered some of the nation’s largest stories, including Katrina, September 11th, and many major crime stories. She pioneeredEssence magazine’s focus on investigative and news articles, which led to the positioning of the magazine as a significant authority and voice on news and led to an interview with President Obama. Most recently, she was the crime editor atPeople Magazine. Robertson is a frequent guest on national media, appearing on programs likeThe Today Show, CNN, HLN, FOX, and MSNBC. Tatsha teaches journalism as an adjunct professor at NYU. She is currently partnered with Harvard University’s Achievement Gap Initiative in coauthoring a book on academic achievement.