Getting Juiced

TV-2's ratings have skyrocketed with coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial.

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Left: Warren Pierce,
Mort Meisner and
Larry Dubin:
Preparing for O.J.

s long as southeastern Michigan TV viewers re-
main transfixed by the O.J. Simpson trial, three
members of the TV-2 broadcasting team are
prepared to work on its daily transmittal —
news director Mort Meisner, reporter Warren
Pierce and legal analyst Larry Dubin.
The decision to hold strong as the only lo-
cal channel pre-empting regular program-
ming with live courtroom coverage is based
on public interest.
'We saw an incredible appetite on behalf
of viewers who really wanted to watch the trial,"
said Mr. Meisner, who has stayed behind the
scenes at WJBK since starting in 1988 as assis-

tant news direc-
tor. He was pro-
moted to news
director one year
later
Above:Warren Pierce
"We thought
and Larry Dubin on the
that interest
air.
would wane af-
ter three or four
days, and we would do less," he said.
"Instead, it has grown by the day."
By the fifth week of the proceedings
in which athlete-turned-actor O.J.
Simpson is being tried for the mur-
ders of his former wife, Nicole Brown
Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Gold-
man, the station's market analysis
showed TV-2 ratings beating those of
some soap operas four to one, said Mr.
Meisner.
The Simpson coverage can begin as
early as 12:15 p.m., with Mr. Pierce
and Mr. Dubin joining the local noon
newscast. It can go on to take the
place of "Top Cops," "Street Legal,"
"Night Court," "Amen" and "Real Sto-
ries of the Highway Patrol."
"Geraldo" continues to be aired at
3 p.m., when the West Coast hearings
break for lunch. When the litigation
moves into the evening newscasts and beyond, oth-
er broadcasters take over until coverage ends at
7:30 p.m.
'Within our group, New World Communications,
there are some stations that are offering the same
kind of coverage, but they didn't really meet with
the immediate success we did," said Mr. Meisner,
who was part of the recent affiliation change that
aligned TV-2 with FOX instead of CBS.
"If we were still part of CBS, we could have done
this, but the network would have gotten angry
about pre-empting their soap operas."
While he sits in his Southfield office, Mr. Meis-
ner faces three television sets that constantly show

video without audio. He peri-
odically glances up to catch
sight of the trial and the com-
peting programs, turning up
the volume when something
catches his attention.
"I want to see the court pro-
ceedings progress," he said,
sharing the curiosity of the two
on-camera personalities, as well
as a Jewish background.
"I have my suspicions, but I
want to know. I'm interested to
hear what the witnesses have
to say. I think it's pretty excit-
ing and excellent television."
A large segment of the pop-
ulation agrees with him to the
point where they complain
about commercials that inter-
rupt testimony. During one re-
cent afternoon, for example, he
took 60 calls to explain that the only way to pay
for the programming is with advertisements.
`The positive part of all this coverage is that peo-
ple get to see how the courts work, although it's
not a real accurate portrait of what is available to
the typical person charged with a crime," the news
director said.
Mr. Pierce, whose broadcasting career spans 25
years in radio and television, can't remember a sto-
ry that has hung on so long and managed to cap-
tivate so many people.
"After a certain point, the media tends to get
bored with a subject and move on unless reinforced
by viewer, listener or reader interest," said Mr.
Pierce, co-host of "Eyewitness Morning."
"In this particular case, the interest hasn't re-
ally seemed to let up. If anybody in an executive
position felt that what they were broadcasting or
printing wasn't being accepted by the majority of
people, they would move on to something else."
To give Mr. Pierce — and his audience — more
insight into the case, the station sent him to Cal-
ifornia, where he taped background reports to use
during breaks in the proceedings.
'When I was in Los Angeles, I was able to put
the crime area in perspective and see how closely
everything is tied," he said. "There's a neighbor-
hood feeling like you get in Royal Oak or Birm-
ingham or Grosse Pointe.
"This is a community where people go to the cor-
ner to buy their groceries or eat at a restaurant. A
lot of people are jogging in the streets."
During his trip, Mr. Pierce drove or walked to LO
the sites that were important on the day of the
murders and are mentioned throughout the trial
— the school where Sydney Simpson had her
recital, the Mezzaluna Restaurant frequented by
the Brown family, Ronald Goldman's residence, =
Nicole Simpson's condominium and O.J. Simpson's cc
estate.
"I've been in the courtroom as well, and I know
how small it can be, how close the lawyers can be

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