THE MEDIA FIGHTS BACK AGAINST BRITNEY LEGAL BLACKOUT

Following attempts by lawyers for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline to shut the public out of their escalating child-custody battle, attorneys for several media outlets have filed a motion to unseal the proceedings. L.A. legal eagle Alonzo Wickers, who represents a number of journalistic giants in this motion, asked Superior Court commissioner Scott M. Gordon to grant the media access 'to relevant parts of the file.' Those parts, Wickers said, include the exact days of the week and times stipulated by the court that Britney and Kevin will each have custody of their children. 'We understand minor children are involved in this,' Wickers told OK! exclusively outside court. 'We don't want to publish everything that's included in the file, just the parts that are pertinent to public dissemination. We're asking for limited access to some of the information. The fact that they're celebrities doesn't exempt them from the public's right to access of some parts of these records.' But Wickers and the media face an uphill battle. Britney's attorney Laura Wasser told Gordon in court that the media was 'a non-party to this case.' Kevin's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan had even stronger words. 'Any time you've got a celebrity case with children involved, the children need to be protected,' he said. Speaking outside the court, Kaplan insisted that Federline's interest in having the children more is not driven by money. He is seeking a modification to the current 50/50 custody split and 'pursuing more time with the boys because Kevin is concerned that the more time they're with him, the less risks they face? He wants them to be in the best possible environment.'Photo: Wireimage.com