No Bush for NBC West Coast Viewers

Although CBS and ABC aired President Bush’s Friday news conference live nationally, an NBC error gave the network’s West Coast viewers only the regular “Today” broadcast normally aired there on a tape-delay basis.

It was a mistake that will not happen again, said Marty Ryan, the program’s executive producer.

Ryan said that the show originally was told by NBC staff members in Washington that Bush planned only “a quick, informal get-together” with reporters late Friday morning at a time that the taped “Today” broadcast normally airs on NBC’s West Coast stations, including KNBC-TV in Burbank.

By the time Ryan was advised that it would be a full-blown press conference, it was too late to cut into the show, he said. “It was kind of a lousy call on our part, but also theirs,” Ryan said, referring to the network’s Washington staff, which provided the incorrect information.