Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Day One

The Sandusky trial began yesterday, with jury selection, in Centre County court.  It had been a long time since I was in Bellefonte, and I forgot what an absolutely pretty town it is.

WNEP management was kind.  We were given the option of driving down Monday afternoon, about a two hour and 15 minute journey, and grabbing hotel rooms so we could hit the air bright and early Tuesday morning.  I talked it over with photographer Mark Monahan.  We both preferred an early start and a Tuesday morning drive.  I'm usually in the office and at my desk by 2:45 AM Mondays and Tuesdays, so it wasn't a major inconvenience for me.  Plus, I prefer my home bed, my own food, and my home bathroom.

I got to the station at about 12:30 AM Tuesday, and I banged out a few preview stories.  They centered on the input and analysis from former Luzerne County District Attorney and judge Peter Paul Olszewski.  Yes, Olszewski believes you can pick a fair jury and he was concerned about the judge's ruling barring alleged victims from using pseudonyms.  I'd been writing Sandusky stories for seven months, and I have a fat file of backgrounders.  The ins and the outs, and the major players are well known.  We were in the car and on the highway by 1:45 AM.
We arrived in to town at about 4:00 AM.  Above is a shot of Mark, on the right, and intern Joe, on the left, pulling gear out of our truck We enlisted Joe for the trip because it never hurts to have an extra set of hands.  It worked out well.  Joe got some good experience.  He helped with keeping things dry and running cables from the satellite truck to our designated spot on the courthouse lawn.  It turns out Joe is a whiz with communications, and I was happy to have the help.

More of the Bellefonte experience, especially the media crush,  tomorrow.