Orientation —
Rules and guidelines for the press.
Will they all heed them?
9/2/94
Starting with the 1992 Rodney King beating trial, the first high-profile in which I was involved as a court-media liaison, I prepared a list of court and trial policies and rules and held a meeting in advance with the media who planned to cover the trial. Each trial after that, and there were several, the list and the meeting was more detailed and sophistic. By the time the Simpson case was underway, the rules and guidelines was in the form of a booklet and the meetings was an “orientation”. Although we urged attendance and indicated that failure to do so could result in consequences, such as the possibility of less than favorable courtroom seating during the trial. But even attending the orientation and getting the booklet didn’t guarantee that they would (1) look at the booklet or (2) be mindful of the contents.
Anatomy of a Trial blog 