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Court -- and class -- are in session JMC public affairs reporting class covers capital murder trial |
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The courtroom is filled with jurors, grieving family members, and news media. The defendant sits stoically as the prosecutor dispassionately details how the man murdered his girlfriend, her 7-year-old son, and a 22-year-old Kent State female student. Court -- and a JMC class -- are in session. Story by Jerome Anderson The slayings that took place in Brimfield Township in January 2005 sent shockwaves through Northeast Ohio and made national headlines. James Trimble, 45, of Ravenna, was accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend Renee Bauer, her son, Dakota, and Kent State University student Sarah Positano. Prosecutors sought the death penalty in the case, while Trimble's defense entered a plea of not guilty. From the beginning, the case had all the makings of a blockbuster trial. It also was a unique learning opportunity for Kent JMC students. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication enjoys a strong reputation of turning out graduates who have solid practical experience reporting, writing, and editing professional quality news reports. Kent boasts both a student produced daily newspaper (The Daily Kent Stater) and a student produced nightly newscast (TV-2 news), which broadcasts on campus and throughout Portage County.
"When (Trimble) was captured from the site of the murders in January, I knew then that it would have to be in the fall or the spring semesters that a trial would come up," said Hipsman. Once it became evident that the trial would take place during the fall semester, Hipsman and Hanson agreed students should cover the trial. Not only was it a major, local story, but one of the victims was a Kent State student. "We operate as if TV-2 and the Stater are professional newspapers, commercial, daily operations," Hipsman said. "As such, it was just a logical thing for them to cover." Professor Hanson sees the combined print and broadcast class as an opportunity to give students a taste of what the newsrooms of the future will be like. "I think it gives the students some value-added stuff. They're going to be working in a converged newsroom at some point," Hanson said. "We try to run it like a real newsroom, so it gets pretty noisy. We interrupt each other, sometimes we argue a little bit. We do that on purpose, so that students get a sense of how a give-and-take editorial environment works." As logical as the decision was to cover the trial, it was still an unusual situation, not only for JMC, but for the Portage County court system as well. Students in the Reporting Public Affairs course normally have the opportunity to cover regular local government meetings and events, but opportunities to cover court proceedings, especially of this magnitude, are not common. "(Journalism students) don't get the opportunity to do much court work," Hipsman said, "and certainly this positions
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them well for future jobs." Hipsman also said that covering the trial gives students the opportunity to find out whether hard news reporting is something they'd really want to do. "For some of them it's given them the experience to say, 'I really, really like this,'" Hipsman continued, "Others have said, I really don't like this." As for the Portage County court system, the Trimble trial represented an unusual situation that puts somewhat of a strain on their resources. "The courthouse hasn't had in many, many years a large, popular trial," Hipsman remarked. "When I say popular, I mean that there are going to be a lot of people just coming to see it, and there's going to be a lot of media attention. The courthouse personnel have not had to deal with that in a long time." Hanson took the initiative in establishing a working relationship with the court and presiding judge John Enlow. "I had never met John Enlow until I cold-called him and said, 'I'm a college professor with Kent State, and my students will be coming in (for the trial), I have some experience in this area, can I help you'" Hanson said. "(Enlow) mentioned at that moment that he was concerned about the pooling arrangement, so I was able to help him." A bonus for students covering the trial was giving them the opportunity to interact with professional journalists. "I've spoken to a few of the professional journalists who have been there, and they've been very impressed with the professionalism of our students," Hipsman said. The students' high performance was neither accident nor coincidence. Hipsman and Hanson took special care in preparing their students for what to expect and appropriate behavior in the courtroom. They modified the structure of the course, front-loading material on court procedures. They also spent extra time training students on approaching grieving family members, and the most appropriate ways to report on graphic testimony. Hipsman kept her phone line open to students who had professional questions or personal concerns about the trial. "About half of the students have called and said, 'Oh my gosh, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know where to begin," Hipsman said. "Mostly I'll say, 'calm down, let's go through your notes, there's plenty to do here', as any city editor or news director would do." Hipsman strongly believes that this experience will be extremely valuable for JMC students' professional development. "One day of covering this is better than three lectures I could give them," Hipsman said. "They will remember this more than anything I will say in the class room. It's better to learn this kind of stuff by burning the shoe leather." [Note: Trimble was convicted of the three murders after a 4-week trial.] Trial coverage in the Kent Stater |
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© School of Journalism and Mass Communication 130 Taylor Hall
Kent State University Kent OH 44242 330-672-2572 http://www.kent.edu |