For many media members DNA testimony very dull
By JULISSA McKINNON
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: October 31, 2003, 05:37:07 AM PST
It was a boring news day in "Camp Peterson." At least that was the buzz inside the white media tents lined up outside the Stanislaus County Courthouse.
But the shows still went on Thursday.
Hair was sprayed, then resprayed.
Anchors rehearsed 30-second takes in serious tones, while makeup artists powdered the personalities' faces.
Off camera, reporters complained that the second day of Scott Peterson's preliminary hearing felt like "DNA 101" all over again.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos spent most of the day grilling an FBI expert about the validity of mitochondrial DNA evidence. DNA tests were done on a strand of hair that was attached to a pair of pliers found under a seat in Peterson's boat.
"While they were going back and forth about DNA evidence, our eyes start to glaze over," TV reporter Robert Handa said after wrapping up the day's events in two sentences for the news on KTVU Channel 2 in the Bay Area. "But even though we're bored, we still have to focus, because this will be a key piece of evidence."
Other TV anchors were ready to write off the day as a waste of their time.
News anchor Miriam Hernandez of KGO Channel 7 out of San Francisco hurried back to her van, parked in a dirt lot, to edit her script.
"If Arnold's news conference goes too long, I may not even make air," said Hernandez, referring to Gov.-elect Schwarz- enegger. "That means I've done all this work for nothing."
Still other media people embraced the slowness.
The ABC News crew just flew into Modesto after spending several sleepless nights chasing the Southern California wildfires. Producer Ronal Ellison said the crew is due back on the fire line Saturday.
"It's like a vacation," sound engineer Doug Lantz said with a smile. He said a comfy room at the DoubleTree Hotel beats staying awake wondering if your bed might catch on fire.
Camaraderie prevailed among the myr-iad TV crews along 11th Street.
"Ever since O.J., we kind of bonded," said Lantz............