Shock Following Kobe Bryant
Court Appearance
Eagle, CO | In the wake of a seven-minute hearing that created a media frenzy in this quiet mountain town, reality is just now beginning to sink in.
Product endorsement superstar Kobe Bryant spoke only two words, "No sir," when asked if he objected to giving up his right to have a preliminary hearing held within 30 days. Judge Frederick Gannett set an October 9 date to determine if the case will go to trial.
"Preliminary who?" asked investigative reporter Lance Troy from Miami. "What the hell am I supposed to write about now?"
Shock and disappointment saturated the temporary city of media tents crowded around the Eagle County Courthouse as hundreds of local news teams from across the United States faced the grim possibility of having to cover actual news for two more months.
"What happened? I thought there was going to be a trial today," wondered legal affairs correspondent Maria Kwan from Dallas. "You mean I have to go home now?"
The general concensus was that it has been too long since the last "Trial of the Century." Several reporters felt pride and nostalgia as satellite dishes beamed live shots of the courthouse door across the country for 45 minutes while waiting for Bryant's motorcade to arrive. But for now, the action-cams have fallen idle.
The only apparent bright spot is that local stations will now have eight weeks to plan and promote gavel-to-gavel trial coverage, with extensive video replays and testimony analysis.
Responding to criticism that these procedings really only concern the two families involved and is just another media circus that distracts the public from significant world events, one experienced news anchor from Minneapolis-St. Paul observed, "You know it's an incredibly important news story when the Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood crews are both here!"
