WWW- Wacko Jacko nemesis Diane Dimond has been given the boot by Court TV.
Dimond, TV’s best-known correspondent covering the Michael Jackson child-molestation case, left the network yesterday after she was told her contract would not be renewed for next year.
“I had a very good ride,” said Dimond, who wrote a weekly column for The Post during the Jackson trial. “We all knew what was going to happen and that it was eventually going to be over.”
The New York-based reporter – who sources said earned around $400,000 a year – and her team of investigative journalists were dropped from Court TV for economic reasons, she said. Her contract expires at the end of this year.
The network offered Dimond office space through December, but she chose to leave this week, sources said.
Among those who worked on the investigation team with Dimond for the Jackson case was Joe Hamill, the brother of famed New York newspaperman, Pete Hamill.
Joe Hamill is fighting a debilitating illness and recently went on disability insurance. A network source said Hamill was still considered an employee of Court TV and would remain one.
Dimond became famous for her dogged coverage of Jackson over the years. Jackson fans called her reporting one-sided and hated her so much they cursed at her on sight when she was spotted at the courthouse. At one point, she even filed a restraining order against one heckler.
“She came to us with the Michael Jackson story, and she owned it,” a Court TV official said. “Her contract was pretty much for what we estimated the duration of the story would be.”
Dimond’s tough coverage also angered Jackson’s defense team who had mixed feelings about her departure.
Jackson’s lead attorney Thomas Mesereau was said to be “dancing in the streets” yesterday, according to sources. Mesereau did not return calls.
But Jackson attorney Brian Oxman – who says he still represents the pop singer for civil cases – called Dimond a “worthy adversary” and told The Post he was not pleased by Court TV’s decision to drop Dimond.
“Where would Ali be without Frazier or Foreman?” he said.
Dimond said that, despite her departure, the relationship she has with the network is still good and Court TV is planning to throw her a book party next fall. Her new book, titled “Be Careful Who You Love,” is a 400-page investigative bio of Jackson that covers the last 15 years of his life.