Internet Outlook with Richard Wiggins | 8

The Difference Between Broadcasting and Narrowcasting

News Versus Background Information

Of course, for a high-profile case, technology has changed all that, and without need for the Internet at all. If cameras are allowed in the courtroom, the reading of a verdict will be instantly seen by all the millions of interested viewers world wide. Such was the case for the OJ Simpson criminal trial.

And if cameras are not allowed in the courtroom, or, if a ruling is merely a written opinion being handed out in the clerk's office, then a gaggle of reporters standing outside the building will intone the word as soon as they get it. Thanks to satellite trucks, each reporter's countenance and voice will reach millions with the verdict, within minutes if not seconds. Such was the case for the OJ Simpson civil trial: news organizations worked out ways to quickly, and unobtrusively, relay the verdict to the reporters on camera.

So all the court needed to do in this case was this: contact each of the 21 organizations that were tapped to receive the e-mail, and instead invite one reporter from each to be physically present for the news. The court could choose to distribute the news in the courtroom or in the clerk's office. In either case, simply limit the gallery to those chosen reporters, plus the principals of the case, including of of course the prosecutors and defense attorneys. For a courtroom reading, the gallery might include select others, such as the members of the defendant and victim families. Set clear rules defining when the 21 reporters would be allowed to leave the room.

Or, to make matters simpler, merely read a summary of the decision in front of the same TV cameras that were in the courtroom for the entire trial.

Either approach would've gotten the verdict out by within a couple of minutes of its announcement - i.e. by 10:02 am instead of 11:02 am.