Alec Baldwin’s Rust trial for manslaughter begins on Tuesday, July 9 with jury selection in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The event is expected to draw interest from media outlets around the world, but there is one network that is banking big on televising the trial.
Court TV will not only provide the pool feed for the cameras located in the courtroom, but they will also do TV specials and add reporters to the case in New Mexico. Court TV head Ethan Nelson told TV Insider that he expects the Baldwin case to be one of the network’s “hugely high-profile cases throughout history.” He explained, “It’s part of Court TV’s DNA. Last year there was the Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial. Before that, it was the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case, which had a massive international audience. Alec Baldwin is an A-list celebrity, so we’re focused on bringing this to a large audience.”
Grace Wong, senior director of courtroom coverage at Court TV, added that the shock in this criminal case is because “the expectation was there would be some type of plea bargain or somehow his side would successfully get the case dismissed, and they haven’t been able to do that.” Describing it as a “dramatic development in the case,” Wong expects the story to have more twists and turns. “They charged him, dropped the charge, and brought the charge back. It’s these developments that made it so different,” she added.
Nelson also brought up the fact that Baldwin “has spoken publicly about” the shooting that occurred in October 2021. The prop gun had a live round in it after being loaded by armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is serving 18 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter. The accidental shooting resulted in injury to director Joel Souza and the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin spoke to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in December 2021 about the incident.
“Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Baldwin said. “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.” Now, Baldwin’s fate will be in the hands of the jury, and Court TV hopes the world is watching because they will be covering until a verdict is rendered.
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