Stuart Cross, Glenstal Abbey School, Murroe, Co Limerick

It sounds severe, but what does the verdict in the Louise Woodward trial matter? Far more worrying was how the media was used. Lawyers may have jeapordised their client's future in order to further their careers; in order to be known as the one who got Louise off; in order to turbo their careers through the media, to be the darling knight of TV trials.

In such trials lawyers play to the cameras. Prosecution and defence turn into Matlock and Perry Mason. Do television trials veil the eyes of justice? Does television divert the true verdict? Does the media care - or any of us? Because next week it will move on to the next sensation.

Kit O'Mahony, Mount Temple Comprehensive, Dublin

I have a problem with people who say "Oasis are the greatest band ever." Oasis are nothing more than bad copies of a truly great band, the Beatles.

Speaking of bad copies, what is going on with the amount of cover versions? Watching Top of the Pops last Friday I was amazed to see that out of six or seven songs, two were direct copies - Clock's vastly inferior reggae/rap version of Hot Chocolate's You Sexy Thing and Carole King's You've Got a Friend; another used samples from Joni Mitchell's Don't Know What You've Got Till it's Gone. How many people would know those songs were covers? What ever happened to good old-fashioned originality?

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media scope is a weekly media studies page for use in schools. Group rates and a special worksheet service (see `faxback', left) are available: FREEPHONE 1-800-798884.

media scope is edited by Harry Browne.