Television brought the country together like one big rubbernecking family as the verdict was read yesterday in Michael Jackson's 3 1/2 -month trial on child-molestation charges.
At 3:34 p.m., when word came out that the jury had reached a verdict in its seventh day of deliberation, cable news networks shifted into high gear. The broadcast networks, no doubt nettled that the trial had not wrapped in time to get the moment into the May sweeps, waited a couple of minutes before breaking briefly into regularly scheduled fare to announce that a verdict had been reached. They told viewers they would return in about 45 minutes for the reading of the verdict -- signaling to Jackson fans and the morbidly curious that they should jump over to the cable networks. Maybe broadcasters should rethink that strategy the next time the trial of a faded celebrity comes up.
With the broadcast networks returning their stations to "Dr. Phil," "General Hospital," "Guiding Light" and the like, the cable news networks got to work at what they do best -- talking through the wait.
At Fox News Channel, talk turned to what would happen if Michael Jackson did not show up at the courthouse, noting that his three-SUV caravan was still parked at Neverland and with the clock ticking, he might not get to the Santa Barbara County Superior Court by 4:30 p.m., when the judge had said the verdict would be read.
FNC's Los Angeles-based correspondentTrace Gallagher reported from the courthouse in Santa Maria that an ambulance had arrived and that if Jackson, who probably would not tip the scales at more than 105 pounds, was convicted and fainted, "he will be taken out on a stretcher and that will be one vivid picture of Michael Jackson's health."
Fox's Shep Smith wondered what would happen if Jackson simply did not show up.
Gallagher noted that Roger Friedman at FoxNews.com was reporting that Jackson had stayed at the Santa Ynez Inn, not at Neverland, the night before, adding, "Michael Jackson has reportedly been everywhere except hiding with Elvis in the last five days.
"We don't know where Michael is at this point, Shep," he said.
This inspired Shep Smith to imagine that Jackson must be absolutely terrified and that it was not out of the realm of possibility that he was just refusing to leave.
Debate followed as to whether Jackson's mother would collapse if he was found guilty on the more serious counts. "I fully expect Jackson, who barely made it through the trial, who almost didn't get here on Pajama Party Day, that if he is convicted, his mother may collapse in the courtroom," FNC's legal analyst Jim Hammer forecast.
They prattled on about how, if convicted, Jackson would go into a holding cell in the courthouse and then be led out the back, would be driven to the Santa Barbara County Jail at high speed, surrounded by police officers; handcuffs would be involved; and how authorities would not take any chance that he might flee or kill himself.
Over at CNN, Robert Shapiro, lead attorney on O.J. Simpson's defense team, boldly predicted that the jury would render a guilty verdict "that will not have Michael Jackson singing 'Beat It.' "
