THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 31, 1995 TAG: 9507290058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
ALL ABOARD FOR the O.J. Trial of the Century Cruise! Sail from Los Angeles to Baja with former Simpson juror Michael Knox plus assorted law professors.
Should there be a lull in the cruise, reach for the O.J. Trial of the Century Word Activity Book featuring the O.J. Trial Crossword Puzzle.
``One Across. Four letters. First name of Simpson houseguest.''
Hmmmmm. Tough one.
I learned about the O.J. cruise and crossword puzzle book after spending some time here with Greg Agnew of E! Entertainment Television, one of dozens of reporters who have been covering the trial since it began. Press headquarters is Camp O.J., across the street from the Los Angeles County Criminal Courts Building where Judge Lance Ito presides.
The coverage on E! is offbeat in contrast to the this-is-serious-business approach of Court TV, CNN and CNBC. It was Agnew who told viewers about 25 songs, including several by rap artists, written about Simpson even before the defense put on its case.
You won't see Jay Leno's Dancing Itos on Court TV, but E! has them.
Agnew, Jim Moret of CNN, John Gibson of CNBC, Diane Dimond of ``Hard Copy'' and Gregg Jarrett of Court TV were nice enough to drop in on the Television Critics Association press tour the other day. They swapped tales about covering a story that has gone on longer than the Gulf War, the siege in Waco, campaigns leading up to presidential elections, the Olympics or anything else on an epic scale of late.
``It's a story that won't go away,'' Gibson said.
Moret, an attorney who once practiced business and real estate law, estimates that he has already spent 700 hours before the cameras, anchoring CNN's live coverage of the trial.
``It has been a life-altering, career-altering assignment,'' said Moret who rises early so he can co-anchor ``Showbiz Today'' as well as the Simpson proceedings.
``This is wonderful job security. Who can say that the trial won't go on for another 700 hours? When it ends, I will be lost without it. I am that immersed in what is happening.''
Jarrett, too, has developed a strong bond to the case and Court TV's coverage. Jarrett will continue to be a part of it when he returns to New York from Los Angeles. He will anchor from there.
His assignment to cover the trial in California was to be a temporary one. As it turned out, Jarrett, a former trial lawyer, has been away from home for months.
``I had to buy a clutch of new suits out here,'' he said. Jarrett, who has been an attorney for 15 years, will begin a new series for Court TV in the fall, ``Inside America's Courts,'' and who knows? The Simpson trial may be over by then.
Why has this trial been so compelling for millions of viewers? Simple, said Jarrett. ``It is a story with everything including sex, drugs, murder, mystery, celebrities. And it is the story of someone who is perceived as a nice guy who may have done something unbelievably horrible.''
It has been reported here that should Simpson be acquitted, he will appear on pay-per-view television to tell his story. That could earn him $10 million or more.
And speaking of vast amounts of money, it is Simpson's wealth, and not TV in the courtroom that is the reason this trial has gone on for so long, suggests Gibson. Simpson's millions brought a large legal team into play, and that team is taking its time in putting a defense together.
The meter is running.
``Let's be frank,'' said Dimond when she faced the TV press. ``We're all making money off this trial.''
In Southern California, coverage of the trial is relentless. A local station carries it live. Nothing gets by the reporters here.
Murder as show business. That is what TV has made of the Simpson trial. by CNB