Media Circus p. 8

By: M.L. Stein

The massive "media army" camped outside the Los Angeles
Criminal Courts Building might give the impression that
the O.J. Simpson murder trial is one big stage show; in a
city whose reputation is built largely on entertainment sp.

THE O.J. SIMPSON murder case is,
of course, the big news story in Los Angeles.
But a poll of the population might very well put the media themselves a close second.
Frequently, in the past several weeks, a Simpson story in newspapers or aired on television or radio has been accompanied by a sidebar about a media controversy.
Many of these stories have been powered by Superior Court Judge Lance Ito, whose dislike of the Simpson coverage is so intense that he has threatened to pull the plug on the pool TV camera in the courtroom.
Such an action would stymie the reporting of most of the massive media contingent, who cover the trial by watching television monitors in the print and broadcast pressrooms. There are merely 27 courtroom seats allotted to the press and only seven are permanently assigned.
Ito is upset about leaks in connection with the murders of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. He first heaped his ire on KNBC-TV for broadcasting what he said was an inaccurate report of a bloody sock found at Simpson's home. The NBC affiliate took the judge's anger so seriously that it hired prominent First Amendment lawyer Rex Heinke of Los Angeles to intervene on its behalf.
Next, Ito pounced on the Los Angeles Daily News, verbally ordering its reporter out of the courtroom because of a story that included excerpts from a blank questionnaire to be filled in by potential jurors.
A Daily News attorney filed a motion to overturn the ruling, declaring that barring reporter Janet Gilmore from the courtroom violated her First Amendment rights.
The questionnaire, the motion argued, was obtained "through lawful reporting methods" and Gilmore "did not steal anything."
Ito relented the following day, allowing the Daily News, which has one of the precious permanent seats, back into the ninth-floor courtroom.
Court spokeswoman Jerrianne Hayslett said Ito restored the paper's access, because "he doesn't have the time to spend on this. There are other pressing things occupying his mind."
The prosecution and defense also have complained about leaks.
The Los Angeles Times is taking credit for first reporting that DNA test results implicated Simpson, Simpson had cuts and and scratches when first questioned by police in the slaying, an off-duty police officer provided security for the suspect while he was under investigation, and a hair recovered from Goldman's body resembles hair samples taken from Simpson.
Although Ito has not explained how evicting TV from the courtroom will stop leaks, he appears to have captured a huge wave of public support for his stance.
Thousands of letters approving such action poured in after syndicated columnist Mike Royko suggested that readers write to Ito, urging him to ban television from the courtroom "if you feel you are being overexposed" to its coverage.
Royko added, however, "It is not required that you wallow in Simpson's trial. Unless, of course, you choose to wallow like the piggy-wiggy you might be. Then, you should not complain about the media circus, since there would never be a circus unless there was an avid, ticket-buying audience."
Ito has scheduled a Nov. 7 hearing on the matter of removing the TV camera from his courtroom.
Taking up the issue, veteran Los Angeles Times newsman Bill Boyarsky, who has been writing a daily column, the Spin, on the courtroom proceedings and the media's role in the case, observed sardonically: "While most people think the news media have behaved irresponsibly in covering the case, according to a Times poll, they can't get enough of those irresponsible words and pictures."
Boyarsky noted that three out of five people questioned in the survey ? 60% of the 1,703 Los Angeles County residents interviewed ? said they watch the Simpson news closely.
"In other words," the columnist continued, "people are interested. They read, listen and watch. That's why the Simpson media army is on duty. The story brings in readers, listeners, viewers and advertisers."
But anyone watching the "media army" outside the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles might get the impression that it's all one big stage show, in a city whose reputation is built largely on entertainment.
A massive phalanx of TV camera crews and still photographers converges swiftly on any of the trial's principals when they arrive at or leave the court building.
On a recent day, the media swarmed over Robert Shapiro, Simpson's lead attorney, the second he alighted from his car. A little later, police detective Mark Fuhrman, a controversial figure in the murder investigation, was besieged as he left the courthouse.
Pickings are sometimes slim. Some trial celebrities have been departing from back doors and ordering their lunches, perhaps to avoid a media confrontation.
The courthouse atmosphere is made even more surreal by an array of street entrepreneurs hawking pro-Simpson t-shirts, baseball caps, and buttons with such logos as "Don't Squeeze the Juice" and "Free O.J."
At various times, the scene has been further enlivened by a performance artist with a question mark painted on his face, who hands out phony dollar bills with Simpson's picture replacing that of George Washington.
There also is a daily appearance of media groupies, some wearing fake press badges. One was copied so carefully that it would probably pass casual inspection.
More entertainment was provided on one occasion by popular disc jockey Rick Dees, who carried on his drive-time show amid the chaos.
Viewing the whole pageant, Oddivar Stenstrom, a reporter for TV-2, a national TV network in Norway, said his main interest was in covering the "media madness," rather than the trial itself.
Across the street from the courthouse is "Camp O.J.," a parking lot crammed with soaring TV platforms on scaffolding, satellite dishes, mobile homes for broadcast personnel, and even portable toilets.
There, the major networks and stations, occasionally with appearances by NBC's Tom Brokaw and ABC's Peter Jennings, tell the O.J. Simpson story to the nation and, in the case of CNN, to the world.
Things are calmer on the 12th floor of the courthouse, where the pressrooms are. In the somewhat cramped print quarters, reporters, eyeing the TV monitors, take notes on their laptops or notebooks when the trial is in session. During slack periods, they sometimes interview one another. Shoheen Maghame, of City News Service, was quickly surrounded by her colleagues when it was learned she had interviewed Denise Brown, Nicole Simpson sister.
So far, the proceedings have consisted mostly of arguments over evidence seized by the police. Until a jury is chosen and the actual trial begins, even newspeople without permanent seats can often get into the courtroom on a first-come-first-served basis if they have the proper credentials.
The room is barricaded from entrance by metal detectors and bailiffs, who turn away anyone without official identification.
Still and broadcast photographers are barred from filming anywhere on the ninth floor by order of Judge Ito.
In the pressroom, concern over the possibility of a TV-less trial hangs over many of the occupants.
"If he [Ito] shuts off the camera, what happens to people like myself, who will have only one-quarter access to the courtroom when the actual trial starts?" asked Laura Mecoy of the Sacramento Bee.
"How do we cover the trial, except by waiting for my colleagues to come in and give me a pool report? You can't cover a full trial that way. It's not going to work."
New York Times correspondent David Margolick agreed there would be serious problems if TV is cut off, but he expressed irritation over the Times having to share one courtroom seat with the three other New York dailies.
Saying that the Times is seeking a better arrangement for itself, Margolick commented: "You have to be inside to get the sound and smells of the case."
That the Times was relegated to relatively skimpy seating reflects "a bit of Los Angeles parochialism," Margolick said.
Shirley Perlman of New York Newsday said her paper plans no protest unless a paper in its seating group gets preferential treatment. "Right now, we're getting the same treatment as all out-of-town newspapers," she said.
City News Service vice president Yet Lock, who is in charge of print pressroom accommodations but not those in the courtroom, said he believed press arrangements "have worked out pretty well, considering the number of media here and the number that want space."
As to courtroom seating, Lock said, "There is some grumbling, but I have not heard very much."