History
When The National Judicial College (NJC) began conducting courses for the nation's judges in 1964, it included from the beginning a segment on the court's relationship with the media within its three-week General Jurisdiction course. That course, which continues to the present, includes classes as workshops with representatives of the press as faculty, actively discussing with the judges multifaceted court/media issues.
In truth, these sessions sometimes generate significant heat, with some judges accusing the media of being anti-court, and some journalists accusing judges of being uncooperative in their zeal to maintain archaic rules and policies that the press believes deprive the public of information.
Recognizing that recurring frustrations were being expressed in the NJC classrooms and court/media issues were debated intensely during and after the trial of O.J. Simpson prompted The National Judicial College to hold its first National Conference on Media and the Courts in 1996.
Funded by a generous grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, this landmark conference drew more than 100 of the nation's most prominent leaders from both the judiciary and the media. As the dialogue continued for two-and-one-half days, the breadth of the chasm between these two divergent professions was readily exposed, often through the blunt expression of deeply held animosities. Nevertheless, the discussion between the two camps, an essential part of the conference's purpose, paved the way for future progress. To be sure, agreement between the two professions was neither forthcoming nor expected; however, increased appreciation for the other's role was achieved.
Conference participants were asked:
What is the most dynamic impact or outcome of this conference as it relates to the relationship between the courts and the media?
Among the responses:
"That the courts and the media began, and hopefully will continue, a dialogue so that common ground can be gained and differences can be understood."
"Establishment of a dialogue between the third branch of the government and the press."
"The barriers are greater than I knew. Apparently, constructive and positive appraisal of democratic institutions is an unknown function of the press."
"The Conference drove home the absolute lack of understanding judges have about the diversity of the media."
One virtually universal area of agreement among conference participants was that they saw the conference primarily as the first step toward the important goal of increased understanding and appreciation by both sides of the other's role in American life.
ENVISIONING THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE COURTS AND MEDIA
Spurred by the enthusiasm of the 1996 conference, The National Judicial College, the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation began to discuss creating a research and instructional center dedicated to providing practical solutions for the continued tensions between the First and Sixth Amendments. The fact that Mr. Reynolds himself was so prominent in the media made the Center a natural for his Foundation to help create.
Between 1996 and 2000, discussions among the three entities continued with the goal of creating the new national center. While The National Judicial College readily agreed to house the new center, it was apparent that its current building did not have the physical capacity for an operation of the scale envisioned in the discussions. Furthermore, among items under discussion was the creation of a new model courtroom that would be designed not only to include all of the technological advances being made in legal proceedings, but also to include features to assist the media in covering trials. The model courtroom became a priority of both the College and the Foundation in recognizing that media interest in legal proceedings had grown significantly and would continue to grow, and that the courts of the future would have to adjust to the fact that the media spotlight will be facing their way.
