Back row seat to record a moment of history: How journalists are covering the mushroom murder trial

Dozens of journalists have descended on the Latrobe Valley Law Courts to cover the mushroom murder trial and the magnitude of the moment is not lost on us, reporter Laura Placella writes.

This will be the biggest trial most of us will ever cover.

Dozens of journalists, from here and abroad, have descended on the Latrobe Valley Law Courts this week to watch Erin Patterson face the jury who will decide her fate.

But it is different to how many of us court reporters work at the spacious Supreme Court building in the heart of Melbourne’s legal district.

In this Morwell courtroom, only six seats are allocated to media.

Friday was the first day one of those seats was reserved for the Herald Sun.

Dozens of journalists descended on the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell this week. Picture: Jack Colantuono

The seats in question form the back row of the courtroom, right in front of Ms Patterson.

She sits in the dock less than two metres away.

It is important to the Supreme Court that members of the public can find a seat in the public gallery 4 to observe the trial of Ms Patterson.

This is why only six have been set aside for media, with a ballot to determine who wins the privilege each day.

But a handful of lucky reporters have been able to nab a spare seat after keen observers have filtered in.

For those journalists who miss out, or for those who prefer to follow the proceedings with access to a power point or a desk, there’s the overflow room.

More than a dozen journalists click clack at their laptops in the space – which usually serves as a jury pool room – watching the proceedings on a large screen.

But from wherever we write, the magnitude of the moment is not lost on us.

As the saying goes, journalists write the first rough draft of history.