THE CONTROL ROOM by MARTIN PLISSNER

Author:MARTIN PLISSNER
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Free Press
Published: 1999-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Well, not quite. In the spring of 1994, the producer of a brand-new magazine show, America Tonight, was allowed to conduct an “interactive” something-or-other in which viewers, after watching one segment of the broadcast, would be asked a question about it. After replaying the famous tape of Nicole Simpson’s phone call to 911 (“My ex-husband, or husband, just broke into my house, and he’s ranting and raving”), co-host Deborah Norville said, “Get a pen and paper ready and be prepared to make a phone call.… In a moment we’ll ask you to make a life-or-death decision.” After some more file footage, co-host Dana King popped the question: “If O. J. Simpson is convicted, do you think the prosecutors should pursue the death penalty?” At that point in time Simpson had not even been indicted. A graphic then showed:

Yes Death Penalty 1-900-220-2200

No 1-900-220-2211

Callers to the 2200 number carried the day—51 percent to 49 percent for execution. As for America Tonight, its fate was already sealed by the low ratings which had inspired the viewer call-in feature in the first place. Call-ins (and reviews) the next day about the “life-or-death” question were no kinder to the broadcast than callers during airtime were to O. J.

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