ITO TALKS

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In his first interview since the O.J. Simpson verdict, Judge Lance Ito told a California journalism student that he favors cameras in the courtroom because, without them, reporters can hide "a certain measure of truth from the public." But TIME's James Willwerth, who covered the trial from start to finish, says the judge seems ambivalent about the print media. "Although Ito made it pretty clear during the trial that he was no fan of print reporters, he did give the best seats in the courtroom to The New York Times and certain book writers." The interview was conducted by Gayle Gomer, a 21-year-old journalism student at California State University at Northridge. Ito allowed Gomer to ask only three questions, all of them concerning the use of cameras in the courtroom. He insisted that the videotaped interview be shown only on Gomer's college station, but CNN taped it from the college broadcast and played it Tuesday. Gomer got the interview through a stroke of luck; she was interviewing another judge when Ito told her he would allow a brief, five-minute interview.