THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 4, 1994 TAG: 9407020043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
WHILE POLLS show that the public is evenly split on whether the media is paying too much or too little attention to the O.J. Simpson case, there's not nearly enough according to the Society for Simpson Saturation.
Maude Mayview, the society's president, says the major television networks have been ``extremely irresponsible'' in not devoting more time to the accused slayer and the victims.
``I do ironing in my home, and television is my only form of entertainment since the dog died,'' she said. ``I have watched every minute of what's been shown so far. And they haven't told me zilch.''
Mayview is especially angry at several of the cable channels. ``The Weather Channel has been more irresponsible than most,'' she said. ``The idiots have been talking about pollen counts in Iowa, storm fronts in Florida, and we don't know the temperature or humidity in O.J.'s cell. Or whether it will rain during his preliminary hearing or not.''
Mayview said the Simpson case is the most important news story of the century ``with the possible exception of World War II . . . and maybe Donald Trump's split-up with Ivana.''
She and her neighbors formed the society, in part because of NBC's coverage of the now-famous pursuit scene in which police cars followed Simpson's white Bronco down the Los Angeles Freeway.
``They had a basketball game covering a quarter of the screen so you couldn't see some of the signs people were waving at O.J. when he went past. It was totally irresponsible,'' she said.
Mayview would like the networks to show footage of the police cars following the Bronco at least three times a day until December. ``It was still light on the West Coast and a lot of people were on golf courses or watering their lawns and might have missed it,'' she said. She also thinks networks should run the police chase in slow-motion so viewers won't miss anything. ``It's a piece of history they will want to recall to their grandchildren.''
She said polls that show about 50 percent of viewers believe there is too much media coverage of Simpson are misleading. ``Those people are lying,'' she said. ``They complain about too much of it on television and stay up all night channel surfing hoping something juicy - pardon the pun - will show up from the preliminary hearing.
``I've got a neighbor who says there's too much. And he almost electrocuted himself the morning they began broadcasting the preliminary trial when he tried to carry his TV into the shower.''
Mayview says media coverage, particularly by television, has been ``skimpy and totally inadequate.''
The society's surveillance committee has made a list of things ignored by the media in covering the case. A few of the ``glaring omissions'' are:
No color footage of O.J.'s jacuzzi.
No graphic with arrow showing exactly where the hair was that O.J. surrendered from his head as evidence.
No indication whether O.J. wears briefs or boxer shorts when sleeping in his cell.
Mayview claimed the society believes there are ``upwards of 10,000 persons in the United States who are unaware of who O.J. is and have not followed the case.''
Who? ``People buried in mine cave-ins, the unconscious in hospitals, and infants not old enough to walk,'' Mayview said. ``We've got to find a way to reach those people so they will know what's going on.'' by CNB