SANFORD -- In the 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt crashed on turn 4 of the final lap. Days later, I was pressed into action, as his widow sued to stop the press from accessing his autopsy photos, a fight she eventually won. The next year, I was among the select few reporters to witness the execution of Aileen Wuornos, namely because greater Daytona was her stomping ground.
Fast forward a decade later and the coming of age of the electronic media and two back-to-back mega court cases: Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman.
When Anthony was released from jail near the midnight hour after her acquittal, it was our little Internet newspaper, then-called NSBNews.net, that had the No. 1 story in the world during the ensuing overnight hours. On a global scale, New Smyrna Beach is just a stone's throw from Orlando. Google News Directories can attest to that. Casey Anthony was the trial of the (new) century.
That is until George Zimmerman put a bullet in Trayvon Martin's heart and took his life. Zimmerman claims self defense under the "Stand Your Ground" statutes. He's presumed innocent in a court of law.
Early on, two Florida media outlets scored in-person video interviews with the teen's parents: First the Miami Herald and then little NSBNews.net (no trademarked as Headline Surfer via headlinesurfer.com). No make-up, no producers, no sound technicians. Just a no-nonsense bulldog reporter who drove all the way to the big rally in Miami in his little red Audi TT.
While scores of TV camera crews looked on, here I was, this middle-aged guy in maroon shorts and a small hand-held video camera allowed to hop into a big SUV with tinted windows and granted 5 minutes.
On Friday, George Zimmerman will be back in court on a new bond hearing. But I may not be allowed to walk into that courtroom and report the news.
That's because a court administrator put out an e-mail at 2:59 p.m. labeled "REQUEST FOR ASSIGNED SEATING AT JUNE 29th HEARING - STATE VS ZIMMERMAN" and stating: "Please reply to this email If you plan to attend the next scheduled hearing in State vs. Zimmerman. (The hearing is scheduled for Friday, June 29, at 9:30 a.m., in courtroom 5-D of the Criminal Justice Center in Sanford.)
"In Session and the Orlando Sentinel will be providing the video and still pool feeds for this hearing and all future court proceedings in this case. No additional cameras, including cell phones, will be permitted to be used in the courtroom. Only virtual laptops may be used during these court proceedings."
Obviously, I missed that e-mail. Then came a second e-mail at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday labeled, "Reserved Seating for 6-29 bond hearing." It stated: Listed below are the names of the media groups who have a reserved seat at Friday’s bond hearing. You will be able to enter the courtroom at least 30 minutes prior to the proceeding.
Here is the list of who's who in the media elite that resembles the New York Yankees in an MLB All-Star game:
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Keep in mind that CNN's "In Session" has the video and the Orlando Sentinel has the "still photography" rights in the respective pools.
Court administrator Michelle Kennedy's e-mail doesn't state first come, first served. Nor does it give any deadlines.
And so I ask, "Is this justice for all media?" I know what some smart aleck will say: Don't tell it to me; tell it to the judge." If I could, I would.
So, if the court administration is going to deny an award-winning reporter access to the courtroom, I can only appeal to my favorite news personality: Piers Morgan, do you think maybe one of your mini-army of reporters and producers would mind giving up a seat so I could exercise my First Amendment rights?
I've won a lot of journalism awards over the years for telling the stories of justice and injustice, but does it really matter with all of the talking heads that will go on TV the entire night and talk about every twitch, cough and raised eyebrow?
If you can do this, I'll give you the exclusive how an old-fashioned shoe letter reporter was able to step into that SUV in Miami and look right into the eyes of Trayvon Martin's parents and ask them to open up about their deceased child.