Our Long National Nightmare - The Series

First off, I am not going to discuss the legal issues related to Donald Trump’s indictment – more agile minds than mine are doing just fine with that. I do want to talk about whether the trial, if it happens, should be televised. As a former journalist who is no fan of Trump, you might think I am one of those clamoring for the trial to be on TV or streamed live, but I’m actually not so sure.

I get that this is just about the most important story in our history, so that we feel entitled to have cameras in that courtroom. One cable pundit said this week, well, the OJ trial was on TV, why shouldn’t this be? I think there needs to be a better poster child for that argument.

In the interest of full disclosure, I lapped up the OJ drama along with many others, and watched the Geraldo evening coverage after every court proceeding. In the small city I worked in as a journalist, the city manager felt that there would be no useful work done at verdict time, so he invited every city employee to a large conference room to watch  it come down on TV.

It is said that the final yes or no on TV coverage for the Trump trial is up to US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The high court itself only recently allowed live audio coverage of its own proceedings. I don’t have a problem with that.

But there is just something about seeing court activity on a screen. That makes everything cross the line into entertainment. Can you imagine the viewership if Trump were to actually testify?

There is another thing that bothers me a little. Even now, every minute spent on all this special TV coverage is a fund-raising tool for the former guy. Hey, here’s an idea: I’m sure if they put the trial on pay-per-view, we could retire a big chunk of  the national debt.

Supporters of Trump suggest there would be riots in the streets if he’s convicted. Is anybody asking, what’s going to happen if he isn’t?

But back to the point: This is serious business; it shouldn’t be infotainment. Narration to enhance the courtroom audio would work for me. And hey, if your eyes aren’t glued to a screen, maybe you can get some other stuff done.