Panel Discussion - 'making of a ***'

THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY. THANKS FOR WATCHING "MID- MORNING". THE NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY "MAKING A MURDERER" CONTINUES TO DRAW ATTENTION AND HEADLINES. STEVEN AVERY SPENT 18 YEARS BEHIND BARS FOR A *** HE DID NOT COMMIT. HE WAS ACQUITTED IN 2003. A COUPLE OF YEARS LATER, AVERY AND HIS NEPHEW WERE CONVICTED OF MURDERING A WOMAN AT THE FAMILY SALVAGE YARD. THIS NEW DOCUMENTARY HAS PEOPLE WONDERING IF AVERY WAS WRONGLY SENT TO JAIL FOR A SECOND TIME. THIS DOCUMENTARY HAS CAPTURED THE COUNTRY BY STORM. THIS WEEK, HOW DO WE ANSWER THE QUESTION, HOW THROUGH OUR DOCUMENTARIES? IS THIS THING THE REAL DEAL OR NOT? RIGHT NOW, PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR STEVEN AVERY TO BE PARDONED. THAT'S HOW MUCH. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. THAT'S HOW MUCH THEY TAKE THIS DOCUMENTARY AT FACE VALUE. SO I MEAN, WHEN YOU SEE A DOCUMENTARY, DO YOU JUST ASSUME IT MUST BE NONFICTION? THAT'S THE TITLE, DOCUMENTARY. YOUR THINKING IT'S GOT TO BE FACTUAL. IT'S NOT A DRAMA, YOU JUST THINK NONFICTION, MUST BE LIKE CHECKING OUT A BOOK. A REFERENCE BOOK AT THE LIBRARY. THIS STUFF HAPPENED. THEY USE CLIPS, INTERVIEWS, COURT TESTIMONY. BUT HERE'S THE THING, DOCUMENTARIES AS I WAS TOLD ARE NOT A MERE OF EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. THERE ARE PERCEPTIONS, SOMEONE'S PERCEPTIONS OF WHAT HAPPENED. AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT. BECAUSE THE PRODUCERS OF THIS FILM HAD CERTAIN PEOPLE THAT THEY HAD ACCESS TO. CERTAIN PEOPLE THAT WOULD TALK TO THEM, CERTAIN PEOPLE THAT WOULDN'T. SO THEY HAD A LOT OF ACCESS. BUT THEY DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO EVERY SINGLE THING. AND SO, THEY ARE GOING IN IT WITH A STORY IN MIND, WITH AN ARGUMENT IN MIND. YOU WATCHED THIS. OH, YEAH. THIS IS THE DEFENSE ARGUMENT. ABSOLUTELY. WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS DOCUMENTARY THAN ALL OF THE NEWS MEDIA THAT YOU HAD SEEN IF YOU HAD LIVED IN WISCONSIN AT THE TIME, THE AVERY'S NEVER SPOKE TO THE MEDIA. YOUR SEEING A DIFFERENT SIDE OF THINGS. THE DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT THEY TRUSTED TO GET THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY OUT. ONE THING IN YOUR STORY THAT MADE ME GO, OF COURSE, YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHO IS FUNDING THE DOCUMENTARY, TOO. YOUR MENTIONING EARLIER, MICHAEL MOORE. "ROGER AND ME" WAS THE FIRST DOCUMENT TREE I EVER SAW. A COLLEGE PROFESSOR SAID TO US, KEEP IN MIND THIS IS BEING FUNDED BY SOMEBODY AND IS THE PERSPECTIVE OF ALL OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT. WE WENT INTO IT WITH THIS MINDSET. WHO IS DOING IT? IS IT MICHAEL MOORE? IS IT CNN? IS IT HBO? LOOK AT DOCUMENTARIES. WHAT I WAS TOLD, LOOK AT THEM VERY CRITICALLY. THAT'S THE CHALLENGE, THOUGH. JUST BECAUSE IT'S ONE SIDE OF THE STORY ALSO DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU DISMISS IT AS BEING RUN.