Short-Shrifting Abernethy

Calendar sure gave Bob Abernethy short shrift when it announced in Morning Report Dec. 1 that NBC News has assigned him to Moscow, describing him merely as “a reporter at KNBC-TV Channel 4 . . . in the early ‘70s when Tom Snyder anchored the 6 p.m. news and Tom Brokaw the 11 p.m. edition.”

You failed to mention that Bob Abernethy was an anchorman at Channel 4 even before the arrival of Tom Snyder; that for years he conducted an in-depth interview each night on the 5 o’clock program; and that he also delivered a 2-minute commentary every night on the 6. He was also host of the weekly “News Conference” program.

Not to mention the fact that he once served as honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades.

Your skimpy description of Bob’s role at KNBC is like saying nothing more than that Kirk Gibson once came to bat as a pinch-hitter in the 1988 World Series.

IRWIN SAFCHIK

Tarzana

Safchik is a former news director at KNBC.