The president of the New Zealand Law Society, Jonathan Temm, told an international gathering of lawyers this month he wanted a review of televised reporting because it was "edited and sensationalism".
Mr Temm said murder trials like that of Clayton Weatherston and the Kahui twins inquest were examples of court cases that had caused ill-informed and misinformed debate because of television coverage.
"Criminal court proceedings do not need any additional overlay of sensationalism or reality TV drama scripting. Truth is much stranger than fiction."
He accused the coverage of being driven by the "shock factor" and heavily edited so that, despite its claims, it was not reality.
He said television could create hatred of the accused before the verdict. "In the Clayton Weatherston trial, the accused was portrayed by the television media in a particular way."
But Lesley Elliott, the mother of Weatherston's victim, said it was Weatherston who was responsible.
"It shows them for what they are, to be quite honest. I know at that time they haven't been proven guilty ... But aren't we showing who they really are?"
She watched television news coverage of the Ewen Macdonald trial and did not think it was sensational.
"I don't know whether it's sensational - I guess some people could look at it like that, defence lawyers would. They're up there performing anyway," Mrs Elliott said.
Auckland Crown Solicitor Simon Moore, SC, has concerns about the role the news media could have on the "fair trial process".
"Where I do get concerned is when a figure or participant in the trial process has either been demonised or made a martyr by the media."
A spokesman for the judges said the media guidelines were reviewed on an "ongoing basis".
"The recent expression of views ... will be included as part of that process."
