Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9408120016
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: R.D. HELDENFELS KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Dan Dierdorf, born in the Pro Football Hall of Fame city of Canton, Ohio, and his ``Monday Night Football'' co-star Frank Gifford both said they had nothing to add to the discussion of the O.J. Simpson case.
Gifford, silent but visibly angry during early questions about Simpson at a ``Monday Night Football'' press conference Monday, finally said, ``I've known O.J. for 25 years. I helped bring him to USC [Gifford and Simpson's alma mater]. I was asked by almost every TV show in America to come on. To say what? Could I contribute something? No. And that's what I thought about it. In all honesty I thought there was way too much exposure to it, and in many cases it might have affected the judicial process.''
Dierdorf was even more outspoken. ``I don't see how it plays at all into a game that we have going on on Monday night. A man is fighting for his life in a courtroom, and half of what I see on television now is inappropriate. So I don't feel obliged to toss any more on the heap.''
Dierdorf later conceded ``half'' may have been an exaggeration, and that it would be reasonable to report breaking Simpson news during the game. But he remained critical of coverage.
``I'm like anyone else,'' Dierdorf said. ``I was starving for the facts. I'm still starving for the facts. I was glued to my television set trying to glean as much information about what was happening as anyone else. Where I fall by the wayside is after the facts are delivered, when we get into the endless conjecture. ...
``I know O.J., not well, because he was one of us on this show. He's someone that we all held, and still hold, in high regard, hoping that he's innocent. But ... in absence of any breaking news, as it concerns the `Monday Night Football' game, the only thing we could add to the O.J. Simpson saga is our personal opinion and our take on what is going on. And I don't think America is really all that concerned about what I think about it.''
Only Al Michaels, who already has been a part of ABC's coverage of the case, looked for places where ``Monday Night Football'' discussion would be justified. ``To ignore it is also a disservice in a way,'' Michaels said.
``To talk about it in a cursory sense, or just mention it just to show you we're not afraid to talk about it? No. But if we can lend something to it - something on a given day happens that requires us to say something about it, or we might have something that people would be interested in, then we might. ...
``To me, television reflects what the audience wants,'' said Michaels. And television critics here have made Simpson topic A - grilling Fox executives about their plans for a movie about Simpson, asking Woody Allen - no stranger to media scrutiny - his thoughts on the issue, bringing it into talk about ``Monday Night Football'' (where Simpson worked for a time) and with ``Nightline'' anchor Ted Koppel.
Echoing Michaels, Koppel said the Simpson story ``is arguably the news story that cuts across all lines - I mean age, I mean gender, I mean race, economic position, education. I doubt that there is a single group in the country that has not been fascinated by the story. ... The issue is not whether it is a story. It is how we cover it.''
But the ``how'' of coverage is complicated in ABC's case because the ``Monday Night Football'' group knows Simpson personally. That's especially touchy for Michaels, who has been public about his friendship with Simpson, has talked to the murder suspect in jail and who maintains he will wait for the trial before making a conclusion about Simpson's guilt or innocence.
Pressed on whether his friendship would affect his on-air treatment of the case, Michaels said he felt he could do the job - comparing the situation to Koppel being friendly with the secretary of state but still doing shows on foreign affairs.
But Michaels also said Simpson had told him nothing significant about the case and that, if Simpson did, Michaels probably would remove himself from ABC's coverage. Even then, though, he said he would not tell ABC's news division what he had learned.
by CNB