Not The Onion: Former LAPD Det. Mark Fuhrman is set to cover O.J. Simpson’s upcoming parole hearing for Fox News.
More specifically, Fuhrman “will provide contributions and analysis” to the cable network’s coverage, Fox News Channel said on Monday. Geraldo Rivera will take on a similar role.
Here is the cable news channel’s plan for Thursday’s event, in Fox’s own words:
Fox News Channel (FNC) will present live coverage of OJ Simpson’s parole hearing on Thursday, July 20th from Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada, as well as from the Nevada Parole Board in Carson City, Nevada. Throughout the day, FNC correspondents Claudia Cowan, Jonathan Hunt and Dan Springer will contribute live news updates on the hearing to FNC’s daytime and primetime programming.
Fuhrman was a key part of the 1995 so-called “Trial of the Century,” in which Simpson was eventually acquitted in the murders of O.J.’s ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The cop had handled evidence in the case, a fact that became troubling for the prosecution when Fuhrman’s prevalent usage of racial slurs in his past came to light.
On FX’s Emmy-winning “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” the Furhman character was played by Steven Pasquale and appeared in five out of 10 episodes. Fuhrman himself — an occasional Fox News contributor — took part in the excellent ESPN documentary, “O.J.: Made in America.”
ESPN is also among the networks that will air pool coverage of Thursday’s event.