The Greatest Show on Earth

The Greatest Show on Earth
Don Ingle
WRAL News Photographer

I just had to steal that line from Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus to describe the scene outside the Durham County Courthouse on Tuesday. It was nothing short of a "MEDIA CIRCUS." Everywhere you turned, you found a camera. . .everywhere you walked, you found a microphone. . .everywhere you drove, you found satellite trucks. It seems that every conceivable media outlet in the United States of America has descended upon tiny Durham, North Carolina for the Duke Lacrosse rape investigation.


"MSNBC's Dan Abrams discusses the Duke lacrosse case with Durham defense attorney Mark Edwards."

It's not everyday that you get to see the likes of Dan Abrams and Rita Cosby gracing the same sidewalks that you walk on day in and day out. And speaking of the sidewalks in front of the courthouse, one word - ZOO. Tuesday alone, there must have been 20-25 video cameras; another 20 or so still cameras; 6 to 8 tents setup for all those important national media outlets; 10-12 satellite trucks. Heck I even saw two things that I have never seen in my short career carrying the camera; #1 a RV converted into a satellite truck and #2 a Chevy Tahoe converted into a satellite/editing machine.



Another thing that I found interesting today was the fact that if you had no clue how to recite the ABCs, just come on down to the courthouse and get a lesson in the TV ABCs. "Excuse me, who do you all work for?," I pondered. "ABC, CBS, CNN, ESPN, FOX, NBC, MSNBC, WGHP, WCNC, WRAL, WTVD, WNCN, N&O, IE (Inside Edition)" I was hoping to get a X and Z in there. Ahhhh, maybe next time.


WRAL reporter Julia Lewis is interviewed by Inside Edition's Paul Boyd

One other thing that is kinda annoying about the whole situation is all the darn camera people and audio people and producers. They are everywhere. It's funny to think that I, being a "local TV photographer", must run my own audio and gather tape for our stories and run the microwave live truck. In the world of national media, you have a camera person, audio person, a producer, (let me rephrase that; 3 to 5 producers), tape editors, talent, satellite truck operators... the list goes on and on.


Satellite trucks surrounded the Durham County Courthouse like a SWAT team surrounds a house.

And all these people have a tendency to get in the way. Take today for example. Trying to get in the elevator to head to the 5th floor of the courthouse for the first appearance of one of the guys arrested. Low and behold there are 15 camera men (remember that means 15 audio people and 15 producers) wanting to gain access to the same two elevators I wanted to get on. Instead, I decided to head for the stairs and huff it up 5 flights (I beat them all to the top, HA). Once inside the courtroom, it's like a free-for-all for position, and this is in the middle of court.



Well, I think I have rambled on long enough. Have a look for yourself below. You'll see what I mean when I said that it was the MEDIA CIRCUS.



A group of anxious cameramen wait patiently for a sighting of one of the two players arrested



Live trucks line the sidewalk in front of the Durham County Jail



Microphones positioned for the always possible press conference



Camera upon camera line the front of the Durham County Courthouse



Julia Lewis prepares to deliver her Noon report



WRAL news photographer Ed Wilson editing a PKG for our Noon newscast



Another FOX News Channel camera person rolls her gear towards the tent