The words “Los Angeles Times,” set in large, bold letters, extend across the four center columns of newsprint. In the far right hand column, a forty- to fifty-paragraph article reviews the previous day's developments in the Simpson double murder case. A full-color photograph and two-column headline typically complement this article. In one of the other six columns comprising the front page, a sidebar story about the case often appears. Inside the newspaper, perhaps, another story or two expands on issues related to the case. This is what confronted the reader of the Los Angeles Times on a typical morning during the “Trial of the Century.”

Its main offices situated just a block from the building housing Judge Ito's courtroom, the Times was well-positioned to be the “paper of record” in the Simpson case. But the Times, owned by the multi-billion dollar Times Mirror Company, also had a daily circulation of about 1 million, making it the largest newspaper in Los Angeles and the fourth-largest newspaper in the nation. It was one of only five news organizations awarded a permanent seat in Ito's courtroom (see chapter 3). It also had ample newsworker resources to devote to every facet of the Simpson saga, from the murders, through the criminal trial verdicts, and beyond. Indeed, the newspaper devoted five newsworkers to the case full-time for more than a year.