THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994 TAG: 9406240041
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LYNN FEIGENBAUM
DATELINE: 940626 LENGTH: Medium
Was it overdone? Can too much be written when a renowned and respected figure like O.J. Simpson leads a phalanx of police along a Los Angeles freeway and is charged with two counts of murder?
{REST} More than three dozen readers thought so, particularly last weekend. On Saturday, the newspaper turned over its entire front page and seven inside pages to the strange saga.
``Even when Jackie Kennedy died, there was not this much publicity,'' said Pat Eastham of Virginia Beach. Other callers said much the same, substituting Pearl Harbor and the JFK assassination for Jackie.
What hit readers first was the headline ``O.J. GIVES UP'' - almost an inch and a half of big, bold, knock-your-socks-off type. Too tabloidy, said many.
But they also complained about what wasn't in the June 18 paper - much national or international news. Only six non-O.J. wire stories made the A section.
The next day, Sunday, brought more calls. O.J. dominated the top half of the front page and eight inside pages.
``I can understand the obsession yesterday, the day after it happened. But I'm astonished there's no other news today,'' said William W. King of Norfolk.
Indeed, except for a front-page story on the demise of Florida's Cecil Field air base, the O.J. saga was the only story in the first A section.
The account of former President Jimmy Carter brokering a crucial nuclear summit between North and South Korea was back in the second A section.
Another oft-heard gripe was the Sunday headline, ``The fall of an American hero.''
``O.J. was one of the greatest-ever football players and a popular TV personality,'' said one man, ``but not a hero.''
Hero or star, the O.J. story ``was the best spot news story so far this year,'' said Nelson Brown, deputy managing editor in charge of news presentation.
``It had people riveted to their television sets . . . including us, and we're no different than other readers.''
At first, Brown considered adding pages to the paper. But, he said, there wasn't much else going on. The wire services were offering O.J., O.J., O.J.
The only other significant story was Carter in Korea, and Brown agrees it deserved better play. But, he said, it couldn't compete with O.J. ``You can't hype this story. It's already achieved such magnification in the eyes of the public.''
As for the layout smacking of tabloid journalism, Brown doesn't agree. The goal of the paper's new design, said Brown, is to make clear choices for readers - what's important, what's not. It's also to make stories compelling, dramatic, expressive and accessible.
``I'm pretty proud of what we did,'' said Brown.
What did other papers do?
In The Richmond Times-Dispatch, coverage was relatively modest - both Saturday and Sunday, the O.J. package was one of about a half-dozen stories on the front page.
The Washington Post had plenty of O.J. coverage but much of it inside - 3 1/2 pages on Sunday, as well as articles in its sports section.
On the Peninsula, The Daily Press was closer to the Pilot-Ledger approach. Both days, three-quarters of its front pages were devoted to O.J.
I'll admit I was one of the zillions of TV viewers who was glued to the screen Friday night, watching that bizarre processional on the L.A. Freeway.
But it seemed to me that we could have done O.J. justice without wiping out or burying the rest of the world's news.
P.S. Did we really devote more front-page space to O.J. Simpson than to Pearl Harbor or the JFK assassination? The answer is no - it was about equal.
A microfilm print of The Virginian-Pilot from Dec. 8, 1941, shows a bold, all-caps banner - just a smidge larger than our Saturday O.J. headline - saying: ``U.S. AND JAPAN AT WAR.'' Beneath it are two more big headlines, a full page of war news - and a reminder, ``15 more shopping days. . . .''
Fast-forward two decades. On Nov. 23, 1963, a two-line banner, 3 inches deep, says: ``Kennedy Assassinated; Johnson Is Sworn In.'' With minor exceptions, the whole page is devoted to JFK-related stories and photos. One exception: Today's Chuckle.
But does O.J., for all his fame and now infamy, deserve to rank with Pearl Harbor and a presidential assassination? I'll let you be the judge. by CNB