Look around — O.J. is news
Published Friday, June 27, 2008
Photo by The Daily Journal
Jeff Hage
It’s been an eventful few days around Fergus Falls with the buzz of O.J. Simpson sightings and all.
I’ve also been surprised by the reaction of some people to the news that Simpson is in Otter Tail County.
We’ve received emails from all over the area stating we are terrible people for putting Simpson in the paper.
But the truth of the matter is, O.J. Simpson carries celebrity status and the public loves celebrities.
The Fargo Forum thought O.J. was news not one day, but two. He was featured on the Forum front page not one day, but two.
Our Daily Journal crew was the first on the scene of the O.J. visit at Thumper Pond Wednesday and were treated to about a half hour exclusive interview and photo access to Simpson’s golfing party.
We by no means were the last, however.
Fox News was on the golf course with the cameras rolling.The Forum photo editor rushed out to Thumper Pond Wednesday to personally shoot some photos of Simpson golfing with friend and local resident Barrett Prody.
Fargo TV has been all over the O.J. sightings, as has Fargo radio.
The Associated Press picked up the Daily Journal story on Simpson and our photos went out nationwide.
Why? The public loves celebrities.People flock to publications like People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly to get a glipse of the stars. They do the same with TV shows like Entertainment Tonight and CNN’s Showbiz Tonight, the self-proclaimed “most provocative program on television.”
People will have different opinions on whether or not they think O.J. Simpson is a star. He was a record-breaking NFL running back, but that was a long time ago. He also starred in Hollywood movies like The Naked Gun series. That was a long time ago, too.
This is undisputable, however — O.J. Simpson is a man of notoriety.
Simpson captured the national spotlight during his trial and subsequent acquittal in the 1994 knife slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. In September he's set to go on trial to face charges of orchestrating the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. Simpson has pleaded not guilty.
Whether it’s because of football, Hollywood, murder charges and bloody gloves or stolen sports memoribilia many, many people find the man fascinating.
And that makes Simpson newsworthy.
I’ll tell you that. Editors at the Fargo Forum will tell you that. Assignment editors at WDAY, KVLY, and KVRR will tell you that. So will the folks at The Associated Press.
I’m sorry if a handful of our readers find the regional media despicable for covering a story that carries a natural fascination.
And now on a similar note, I must tell you that O.J. Simpson was one of the nicest men I have ever interviewed in my many days in the newspaper business.
He was polite, respectful, open and extremely honest. He was willing to tackle any question presented him and allowed me to touch on his life on a personal level.
On Wednesday, O.J. Simpson was an honorable man!
Jeff Hage is the managing editor of the Daily Journal. He can be contacted at jeff.hage@fergusfallsjournal.com.