PR in Entertainment

O.J. Simpson was arrested Sept. 16, 2007, and held without bail on charges related to the armed robbery of sports memorabilia in a Las Vegas hotel room. The robbery allegedly took place on Sept. 13, at the Palace Station Casino. At the time of the arrest, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Capt. James Dillon said Simpson “was very cooperative, there were no issues.” 

Simpson’s golf friends, Clarence Stewart and Charles Enrlich were also taken into custody as accomplices. Michael McClinton, another golf buddy described as a “key player” in the alleged robbery, turned himself in. McClinton committed holding the victims by using a weapon.  

Simpson, Stewart and Enrlich were formally charged with 11 criminal counts including coercion and assault with a deadly weapon. Due to the slow proceeding of the investigation, a Las Vegas judge agreed on March 7, 2008, to postpone Simpson’s trial to September 8 after attorneys for Simpson and his codefendant requested more time to prepare for the case. 

During this time, the mainstream media remained neutral toward Simpson’s latest brush with the law, especially since it was unclear as to what exactly was going on. They described the situation of Simpson’s case and followed up with the development. They published the news articles with the descriptive headline such as “O.J. Simpson Arrested in Armed Robbery of Las Vegas Hotel Room” at FOXNews.com, showing some photos of Simpson after he was arrested. 

Media seemed to focus on the truth of the robbery. Through Simpson insisted on claiming that he went to the room to recover sports memorabilia which belonged to him but denied breaking in and no weapon was involved, the two robbery victims, Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong were most quoted by media who said they were threatened by Simpson and a gang of associates with gunpoint at their head.  

Surprisingly, the media didn’t relate this arrest with his more famous 1994 arrest for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. He was found not guilty. They still interviewed the families of Goldman about their opinion for the new case and got the answer of “I hope he goes to prison for a very long time, where he belongs.” 

Well, most bloggers were happy about Simpson’s arrest. They used short but strong headline, “Simpson Gets Arrested” and “O.J. Simpson arrested in Vegas.” They mocked Simpson. They described the case briefly, without many interests in details. However, they still wanted to see what will happen next and wait for the final result. One blogger photoshopped a Simpson photo to make him look like the devil. Another one displayed a side-by-side comparison of Simpson’s 1994 and 2007 mug.

Bloggers expressed their opinions freely and emotionally, while mainstream media relied on the rational description as comprehensively as they could. Blogs would be subjective with personal color, and media are always pursuing to be objective. But they are at least the same for what happened so far.  

I think Simpson had nothing much to do during the crisis. He was self-possessed and cooperative in the situation. After all, it is not the first time Simpson has been arrested and charged with a crime. He should have learned a lot and known how to deal with the situation after his last charge with murdering his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. To be honest, I have no suggestions for Simpson since he is more experienced than me in that aspect. Anyway, I will see how justice will lead his life but won’t wish him good luck.