Multiple
tv channels created just for it. Specialists in the field being brought in at
top dollar just to cover it. New state of the art broadcast studios, graphics
and cameras. Rolling coverage on tv and online. Special reports.The world's
eyes on South Africa.
If you
were in a coma for slightly more than a year, you would be thinking I am
talking about the 2010 Soccer World Cup. But I am not. The tv channels are
dedicated to a court case, not a sport. The specialists are lawyers and not
retired sports legends. The state of the art studio is not for
Supersport. The media is not here for sport. They here for a court case. The
court case of Oscar Pistorius, once a hero to countless people and the mood is
not exactly festive either.
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| (C) SAPA |
Here is a
summary and review of the first weeks court proceedings, as covered in the
media.
I always wondered why exactly the
media was so excited about covering the trial. And then I realised the real answer:
They were excited about covering each other. Monday night I struggled to find
courtroom coverage on tv, yet the Oscar trial was on ALL news channels. What
was on? Media, covering media. The Carte Blanche channel dedicated to covering
the trial was in the midst of a 1 hour program covering how the media was
covering the event. Switch to eNCA: An insert by the head of news (Ben Said) on
the media. The insert spoke of the journalists, the cameras, the helicopters,
even the drone camera (which was from Carte Blanche, the first time a drone has
been used in South African coverage) but no coverage. I switch to the dedicated
10pm slot on SABC News and what do I find? Lo and behold, coverage on the news
(I was impressed, however, that they acknowledged that 'three' local news
channels covered it. Usually they tend to not even acknowledge the existence of
competition).
However,
soon things regulated and focus shifted back to the trial.
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