Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
O.J. Simpson's parole hearing begins in Nevada today.
The 70-year-old former star running back will be there virtually. He's expected to address the parole board via video link from the prison where he is serving time on a 2007 conviction for kidnapping and and armed robbery.
If he receives parole, he could be freed as soon as October 1.
Many major media outlets are planning on providing live coverage, including ABC, NBC, CNN, and ESPN.
But how did we get to the point where a parole hearing, with Simpson appearing only a via video feed, justifies wall-to-wall media coverage?
Judy Muller covered the OJ Simpson trial for ABC News, before teaching journalism at the USC Annenberg School.
"In OJ Simpson’s case, the story is not really resolved yet for a lot of people. . . This is the kind of journalism that’s very easy - there’s nothing else going on today particularly. . . So, this is obvious and there are so many people still interested in this case, that all those networks know that at least some of the time they spend will get good ratings, and that’s really what this is about."
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