NBC’s ‘Today’ Chooses Kardashian Mom Over 9/11 Coverage

Posted on Sep 11, 2012

Screenshot via New York magazine

Split screen coverage of 9/11 on Tuesday morning.

NBC News is drawing fire for its controversial decision to go ahead with a planned interview of Kim Kardashian’s mother instead of going live to the “moment of silence” for the victims that were killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

ABC News, CBS News and all of the major cable channels carried it. But not NBC News. Oh no. Instead, the network aired an interview with Kris Jenner to discuss issues of real importance, such as the upcoming season of her reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and Jenner’s breast implants.

Needless to say, it was quite a departure from the network’s coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, when NBC News pre-empted its Sunday morning programming to cover the memorials in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Someone clearly messed up big time.

Gawker:

TV Newser, the first to notice NBC’s faux pas, noted that NBC’s New York affiliate broke into the interview to air special local coverage.

New York magazine’s Daily Intel, which has a split-screen video of the networks’ contrasting coverage, thought it absurdly “fitting” that, as the moment of silence was being observed, Today show host Savannah Guthrie asked Jenner if there is ever “a time when you’re like, ‘Okay, we can turn those cameras off now?’,” in reference to Jenner’s on-screen boob job.

Politco reached out to the Today show for a response, and got back an apologia in lieu of an apology. “The Today show dedicated a considerable amount of time to September 11th coverage this morning throughout the entire show,” said spokesman Megan Kopf.

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—Posted by Tracy Bloom.

 

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