The double murder trial of O.J. Simpson has taken over the television, and it is about time that something pushed it to the back pages of our news coverage. It was just a few weeks ago that the United States was stunned by the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City. And it was at that time that O.J. finally took a back burner to more pressing news events.
Have Americans become so shallow that they would rather watch the soap opera trial of O.J. than to hear about the little girl who was killed by a hit and run driver in early April? O.J. belongs on the sensational television shows like "Hard Copy" and "A Current Affair." We expect this type of reporting from them.
Sure, we can turn the channel, but is there really a way to escape the O.J. frenzy? To find out what has been going on around the world the past few months, you have no choice but to grit your teeth and sit through the more than 20 minutes of coverage from the now-infamous courtroom in Los Angeles, to just get a small glimpse at the world around us.
Where are our priorities? Everyone should take a good look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are happy with what this society has become. The values that have been taught from generation to generation about the value of life have been pushed to the side, and the excitement of seeing someone famous-someone that everyone feels that they know, on television has taken over.
Whether the anchor is talking about Marcia Clark's haircut, her inability to find a baby sitter, or actually recapping the testimony given that day by one of the many witnesses, it seems that what has been going on in that courtroom has taken over the lives of many people, as well as the newscasts.
"I look forward to it when I am at work," says San Francisco resident Heather Hoyland. "It makes me forget about my own problems. Besides," she adds, "he is a famous star being accused of murder. This is better than most TV shows."
Hoyland's attitude seems to be consistent with what others are saying. It's as if this was planned by the networks to boost ratings. It appears as though people forget the fact that two people are dead and that a man's life is on the line. Maybe the trial coverage should be televised at the same time as shows with similar story lines, like "General Hospital" or "Days Of Our Lives.". This trial has turned into a media circus and a battle for the ratings, and it is about time that viewers say enough is enough!
The recent events in Oklahoma City are unquestionably devastating, and watching the newscasts can be very disturbing. But what seems even more tragic is that the shooting of an armored car driver in San Francisco was not enough to take precedence over O.J. It is a shame that it took the murders of more than 150 men, women and children to get O.J. out of the limelight.
"I am sick of it and I don't care," says San Francisco State University student Dana Anderson. "What the people in Oklahoma are going through is tragic. O.J. can't even be put in the same category, and the two subjects should not be brought up in the same sentence."
So what is going to happen when the Oklahoma bombing is just a memory to those who were not immediately affected? Are we once again going to be drowned with Simpson trial coverage? It seems as though this is already beginning to happen. Slowly but surely, O.J. has once again managed to creep to the front pages of the newspapers and take over at least 15 minutes of nightly news coverage.
"I wish things would just go back to the way that they were [before the trial began]," says Anderson. "I feel as though I am missing out on other things. What is going on in the rest of this country?"
Someday the trial of O.J. will be over, and the newscasts will have to go back to reporting on real news. Will it be too late at that point? Have viewers gotten fed up to the point where they no longer rely on the television for their news information? Another tragic situation, but one that can be avoided if people speak up now. Write letters to television stations and newspaper editors. Demand what you deserve; thorough coverage of ALL events happening in the world.
Put the trial coverage where it belongs on the news, after the reporting of all of the important events happening around the Bay Area, California and all over the world. Give the people what they turn on the "news" to find out: NEWS.
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