THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702080377
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: GREENSBORO LENGTH: 54 lines
The proverbial 15 minutes of fame for jurors in the Food Lion-ABC trial has extended into weeks as newspapers, talk shows and even the network they ruled against have called for interviews.
Jury members have talked with CNN, appeared with Geraldo Rivera and last week taped interviews for ``PrimeTime Live,'' the same show whose 1992 broadcast led to a $5.5 million judgment for the grocery store chain.
After the ``PrimeTime Live'' show that analyzes the trial - set to air this Wednesday - some of the jurors will appear later that night on a special 90-minute ``Nightline'' live from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.
ABC said ``Nightline's'' guest list had not been firmed up but definitely will include some of the jurors discussing undercover journalism.
``I did not realize that I was going to be in this situation,'' said juror Lois Marie Bozman of Southern Pines. ``I never dreamed anyone would ever care what we decided, except maybe ABC.''
The jury ruled last month that ABC must pay damages to Salisbury-based Food Lion after airing a segment about alleged unsanitary conditions at the supermarkets. The jury found the network committed fraud by having two television producers lie to get jobs at Food Lion.
Some jurors have had their fill of the attention, and aren't taking any more calls from reporters. But others are taking it in stride.
``Most of it I enjoyed,'' said jury foreman Greg Mack of Greensboro. ``I don't mind the limelight, as long as it doesn't get personal.''
Most of the 12 jurors spoke with ``PrimeTime Live'' anchor Diane Sawyer in a round-table discussion taped this past Sunday at the University North Carolina at Greensboro.
The network will rebroadcast part of the ``PrimeTime'' original Food Lion report, which charged the chain with selling spoiled meat.
ABC invited Food Lion to submit a two-minute tape to be broadcast unedited on the show. The grocery-store chain said Friday it was ``reluctantly accepting the program's invitation'' and would send a tape.
Food Lion officials are skeptical that ABC will be even-handed in the report.
``Under these circumstances, who could expect ABC to do a fair and objective report on itself? Food Lion certainly doesn't,'' Food Lion spokeswoman Chris Ahearn wrote in a letter to ABC. But Ahearn said Food Lion believes ``it will be the only opportunity for Food Lion to present its point of view.''
Other media outlets also have had their chances to interview jurors.
NBC News recorded a segment with the jurors last month broadcast on Wednesday. At least one juror did a telephone interview for CNN's ``TalkBack Live.''
Court TV plans to include jurors in a discussion aired next week. Sometime in March, three jurors will appear on the daytime version of ``The Geraldo Rivera Show.'' That program was taped in New York last month.