MEDIA: O.J. juiced up local TV

  Squeezed every last drop out of the O.J. verdicts, didn’t they? No complaints here — it was completely called for.
  Just shy of 11 p.m. Friday, the verdict came down and local TV went into overdrive. KLAS-TV, Channel 8 gave over their entire newscast to the breaking story, uninterrupted by commercials, and even clipped the first couple minutes of Letterman to carry the comments of Simpson’s attorneys. KTNV, Channel 13, pre-empted ABC’s “Nightline” for an expanded late newscast, while KVVU-TV, Channel 5 and KVBC-TV, Channel 3  kept it contained to their 11 p.m. newscasts, but largely gave it over to the verdict.
  Over the weekend, as jurors held their news conference, the locals kept it up as the lead story on virtually all newscasts, as they should have.
  Excepting further breaking news — namely, the process of Simpson’s lawyers appealing the verdict or fresh comments by participants or others connected to the trial — moderation between now and the December sentencing would be appreciated. But not necessarily expected.
  More on that in Thursday’s Mediaology column. See you then.