European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                On the Airt dramatized William Kennedy Smith goes live nationally while taking the stand in his defense at his rape  still yawned Over Smith Case by Jonathan Yardley the Washington Post Urcyl the least enviable assignment in american journalism the past two weeks belonged to go arcs Jaco of the Cable news network. Jaco appeared to be a conscientious and responsible reporter but As in no a Man at the trial of William Kennedy Smith he had Little to do except stand outside the courthouse feed leading questions to the attorneys providing a a analysis of the trial and announce every 10 minutes or so a a we la have a break for these few commercial messages and then Well return to the trial of William Kennedy  a few commercial messages indeed have you Ever tried to watch a movie on Tbs the a super station owned by in no a Boss Ted Turner Well if you think the intrusion of commercials on Tbs is stupefying try an hour with can at the Willie Smith hearing. The first time i caught Jaco delivering the a few commercial messages line was two thursdays ago it was followed by nine commercials. At 4 22 there was a break for seven commercials at 4 32 there was another for two local commercials at 4 34 yet another for one of those interminable time Magazine subscription appeals. All of this came mind you during the closing hours of what had been extraordinarily powerful testimony by the woman identified by can As Willie Smiths a alleged victim a testimony you a think can would have wanted to milk for every last ounce of melodrama and sexual explicitness. But no the soul of a television network lies not in its news but in its Bank account and it was thereto that can dutifully scurried. In so doing it inadvertently made several revealing and instructive Points. A the first is that the marriage of the courtroom and commercial television is inherently incompatible. Television wants entertainment but the courtroom demands the slow steady incremental accumulation of evidence much of it trivial and at first glance pointless. On the previous Day when the witness was presenting her Side of the Case for the first time can broke away with relative infrequency. But when the Ordinary Workings of the Law produced repetitious testimony and minute questioning can followed the natural instincts of television and broke off As often As possible. A this leads to the second Point. Yes its True the Case had Many of the usual ingredients of soap opera a Money sex Fame. Palm Beach a but this docs not mean As the customarily levelheaded Waller Goodman wrote in the new York times that a the trial of William k. Smith is proving to be a television  quite to the contrary in television s terms the Case was a Dud that a Why can ran away from it so often. A the third conclusion to be drawn from the coverage of the Willie Smith Case is that television has no legitimate place in the courtroom. For years to and its allies have argued that putting cameras in the courtroom would increase Public knowledge of the Laws Workings. The television cameras were not in judge Mary e. Lupos courtroom to Edify or educate us. They were there to exploit the sensation of the Case and the notoriety of its principals pure and  was the one in need of Blurry face Job i by Howard Rosenberg los Angeles times Ollow the bouncing Blotch. The judge ordered that to pictures emanating from inside the West Palm Beach fla., courtroom not show her face. Court to a Cable network providing Pool coverage complied by obscuring her with a computerized mosaic. Can Abc lbs and Abc turned her into a human eclipse by covering her face with a Large Gray Dot. Local news shows and syndicated tabloid programs followed suit. Yet occasionally during in no a live coverage of the William Kennedy Smith rape trial the alleged victims head moved faster than her Dot when she was testifying giving viewers a fleeting glimpse of her face. So two thursdays ago More than an hour into that Days coverage in no a Large Gray Dot became a larger Blue blur. Later that morning the Blue blur shrank. Did it really matter first context its True that by withholding names of rape victims the news Media contribute to the unfair taint of disgrace that surrounds these women. Its also True that the lesser of wrongs so to speak is to let the victim make the Call about whether to disclose her identity publicly. Thus until she testified it was proper to avoid naming the woman who has accused William Kennedy Smith of raping her. Precisely because of the nature of the alleged crime and the stigma attached to rape victims the Media had an ethical responsibility to Honor this woman s request for anonymity. That was the Case even after her name was disclosed by tabloid newspapers in England and Florida then last april by Abc news which also ran her photograph and then by the new York times. Even then because the woman Stilt had not fully gone Public a Strong Case could be made by the rest of the Media for continuing of shield her. But eventually surely it was proper to apply the spot remover. The woman whose name i cannot cite Here because doing so is against los Angeles times policy testified extensively in open court. A she has to sit there in that room and face the jury and the prosecution in a real Way Quot said Victoria tour using a former assistant . Attorney general assessing the trial on coun to during a recess. It was time for the Media to end their witness Protection program when so Little remained to be protected. Can deserves credit for attempting to provide near Gavel to Gavel coverage. But there seemed to be almost As much instant Minuit by minute score keeping on defense attorney Roy Black and the alleged victim As there was televising of them. Just As irritating was the Way can reporter Charles Jaco talked Down to viewers by repeatedly telling them Black was attempting to a establish inconsistencies Quot in the Story of the alleged defendant. This was a revelation or later this carefully couched statement about Black and the alleged victim Quot it would appear he  to pick holes in her  yes. Good thought. Another Good thought keep the glue blur and put it in front of you know who. December 15. 1991 sunday a Page 15