Libby Trial Making Media History

WASHINGTON -- The trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is making media history in one of the nation's historic courthouses.

For the first time, reporters for Web logs received the same press credentials as print and broadcast journalists at the 55-year-old courthouse in Washington where the Pentagon Papers opinion was crafted and the Watergate trials were held.

Members of the Media Bloggers Association, an organization dedicated to "citizen journalism," were approved for credentials, which will rotate among its members. Reporters will also provide coverage for blogs such as the Huffington Post and Daily Kos.

Another courthouse first is conversion of an old magistrate courtroom into a media center, where up to 70 reporters and bloggers can watch the trial on closed-circuit television and file stories using wireless, laptop computers.

Sound and images from the courtroom _ including witnesses being questioned, the lawyers and the judge _ also will be shown on large-screen monitors in a courtroom next to the room where the trial will be held. The auxilary courtroom is open to the public and the media.

A request by news organizations to tape and rebroadcast testimony after each session was denied by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who said he did not want the case tried in the media.

To keep the high-tech trial from being broadcast, he banned cell phones from the media filing center. He also is prohibiting use of any electronic devices in the main courtroom.