Yesterday the verdict was
delivered in the civil lawsuit former Professor Ward Churchill filed against
the University of Colorado. The jury found in favor of Mr. Churchill
and awarded him damages of $1.
The news came right around 4 p.m.--perfect timing for the evening news to
carry the story as a teaser and lead with the jury's decision.
Except... yesterday was also the
day that the Denver Broncos were able to reach an agreement on a trade for
quarterback Jay Culter to the Chicago Bears for a quarterback and a host of
draft picks.
The 5 p.m. newscast of the most-watch local television news station didn't
include an update on Ward Churchill's jury verdict until 5:08 p.m., following
Cutler, traffic, economy update (yay DOW!) and weather news. The 6 p.m. newscast had the story
second to the Cutler trade.
As was covered in the trial, at
the time of the Churchill investigation, the media ran rampant with coverage of
the story and it was all the university could do to conduct daily
business. I know--I was there. Amazing how a bigger story in this
media market and four years can change the fervor of the media consumption of
this story.
Sometimes timing is everything,
even if you don't have control over the variables.
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