Final Violation, Rescinded

Ito press coup

Channel 2 pulls interviews.

No late-night reruns.

11/29/94

After CBS affiliate KCBS-Channel 2 officials violated the terms Simpson judge, Lance Ito, had set before he agreed to do an interview with KCBS reporter Tritia Toyota about camps where Americas of Japanese descent were interned during World War II, Ito learned that the station planned to rerun the interviews — the initial interview had been divided into six parts. Airing them again would also violate Ito’s condition that the interview would run only once. So, rerunning them also a violated Ito’s conditions. At Ito’s request, I contacted the channel’s news director, Larry Parret, and asked him to reconsider. Parret called back later to say that Ito was right and that they would not air the interviews again.

Remembering Judge Ito and Heart Mountain

A story about Simpson trial Judge Lance Ito being the keynote speaker at this event, Pilgrimage 2013 A Sneak Peek at What’s in Store, http://heartmountain.org/hmf/images/0213Newsletter.pdf and http://heartmountain.org/hmf/images/Pilgrimage%20Mailer%20HR.pdf, sent me back nearly 19 years a fall morning in 1994 when an interview that was supposed to be about the Heart Mountain internment camp where Americans of Japanese decent were held during World War II derailed matters for the Simpson trial judge.

I detailed in Chapter 3, “Careening Off Track” of Anatomy of a Trial how that came about and the disastrous consequences when the television reporter and management didn’t honor their promises to the judge. 

It was a painful time. It’s heart warming to know that the judge can follow through so effectively with what he feels is his honor and duty to his parents, who met at Heart Mountain, his heritage and other Americans who were so wronged by this country’s internment policy.