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	Priest's Trial Has Potential to Be Circus By Russ Lemmon Toledo Blade April 17, 2006 http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20060417/COLUMNIST34/60416009/-1/NEWS28 With jury selection in the murder trial of the Rev. Gerald Robinson scheduled to begin today, media attention is at the "frenzy" level – which, given the circumstances of the case, is not unexpected. The sensationalism potential in this trial is so high, though, that things could quickly escalate to the next level – that is, the dreaded media "circus." Court TV plans to offer gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial beginning with the opening statements, which could come later this week. Two heavyweights of the newspaper industry, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, are expected to have reporters in Toledo. Coverage by those three media entities alone means millions of people across the country will be aware of the proceedings in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. Competitive pressures likely will force other national media, such as Fox News Channel and CNN, to provide coverage of the trial. If the trial becomes a topic on CNN's Larry King Live, complete with a panel of legal and forensic experts discussing the case, look out. At that point, we would go from circus "watch" to "warning." The good news is, the trial is expected to last only three to four weeks. (As opposed to the trial-by-media cases of Laci Peterson's murder and Natalee Holloway's disappearance, discussions of which went on for months.) A priest on trial for the murder of a nun – Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, 71, was strangled, then stabbed up to 32 times on April 5, 1980 – would be the talk of any town. Court TV's coverage may make it the talk of the nation. Jean Atkin has been the court administrator for more than 24 years, and she said this is the most media attention a case has received. Her biggest fear regarding the trial? "I don't want the importance and dignity of the trial process to be overshadowed or lost in a media frenzy," she said. "The court handles important cases every day." As long as this trial doesn't appear on the radars of supermarket tabloids and TV shows like Geraldo at Large, we should remain safely within the manageable "frenzy" zone. HARDWARE: WTOL-TV, Channel 11, has won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award in the Feature: Hard News category. The winning entry – Katrina: Back Home – recounted weekend anchor Shelley Brown's return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Chief photojournalist Ryan Vetter joined her on the trip. WTOL will represent Region 7 – stations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio – in the Radio-Television News Directors Association's national competition. WEEKEND HELP: WTVG-TV, Channel 13, has hired Stephanie Stilwell as a part-time reporter. She will work weekends only; Monday through Friday she is a reporter for Lima's WOHL-TV and WLMO-TV. (Some trivia: Stilwell appeared previously on WTVG newscasts – in 2004, she was a traffic reporter for the Metro Networks.) CHANGE IN STATUS: Beginning in late May, WTOL weekend meteorologist Scott Brown will be seen only on AM Saturday. Brown is planning to work full-time as a financial planner and won't be able to work weekend evenings, WTOL news director Mitch Jacob said.
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