Poor timing on Emmy skit?

[raccoonradio]

http://www.*************/news/2006/08/28/D8JP84A01.html

6 am Sunday: a plane crashes in Kentucky, killing 49, including a newlywed couple. It is suspected that the plane took off via the runway intended for much smaller planes

A dozen hours later. Oops...poor timing of an Emmy opening sketch...

>> It was meant to be funny. But a fake plane crash during the opening Emmy awards skit made many cringe on Sunday _ the same day 49 people died in a fiery plane crash in Kentucky. The skit, aired live at the start of NBC's Emmy telecast, brought a swift response from the general manager of NBC's Lexington, Ky., affiliate, WLEX.

>>"It was a live telecast. We were completely helpless," Tim Gilbert was quoted as saying on the Lexington Herald-Leader's Web site. "By the time we began to react, it was over. At the station, we were as horrified as they were at home," Gilbert said.

The clip can be seen at hotair.com

Mary Katherine Ham, townhall.com: "The Kentucky plane crash happened at 6 a.m. There was plenty of time to alter the intro of the Emmys to something more respectful. It wouldn't have been polished and post-produced, but it would have been polite."

(In fairness, the plane was never shown crashing on the skit, but a crash was presumed...Some feel the skit was funny and people should lighten up. Maybe so but still, pretty poor timing..)

 

[Braves2005]

I feel that it was in poor taste that anything like a plane crash is taken very lightly especially after the plane crash in Kentucky on Sunday and of course the planes crashing into the World Trade Center 5 years ago.

Also I feel it was in poor taste after reading about Conan O'Brian threatening Bob Newhart's life throughout the whole show because he didn't want the Emmys to go over time. Having not watched the show itself,I read this and felt that was insensitive as well.

I think that Conan O'Brian should apologize for what happened. Either that or get another Emmy host.

 

[radioguy555]

I thought the "To Catch a Predator" skit with Chris Hansen was also in poor taste. Joking about child molesters who meet teens online just didn't sit right with me in the opening sketch.

 

[raccoonradio]

---NBC expressed regret Monday for an Emmy Awards comedy skit that included a mock plane crash and aired on the network the evening of a fatal Kentucky jetliner accident. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the many families who lost loved ones in the plane crash in Kentucky on Sunday, and to the entire community that has suffered this terrible loss," NBC said in a statement the day after the ceremony.

"In no way would we ever want to make light of this terrible tragedy," NBC said. "The filmed opening during the Emmy telecast was meant to spoof some of television's most well-known scenes. The timing was unfortunate, and we regret any unintentional pain it may have caused."

Criticism of the sequence appeared on Web sites Sunday night, including the Los Angeles Times', with a columnist for the paper calling it "cringe-inducing" and "of questionable taste."
The airing of the skit, a spoof on the ABC plane-crash drama "Lost," was condemned by the general manager of NBC's Lexington affiliate, WLEX.

 

[Jul]

Why did NBC let this skit air?

 

[WordLife]

Lighten up...

Let's be honest, I'd predict the majority of the people didn't even know what had happened earlier in the day. Yes, it is sad that something like that happened, but it happened in Kentucky, a small-market that does not get much publicity.

Since it didn't have an affect nationally, that is probably why the skit still ran.

 

[BRNout]

Lighten up...

Let's be honest, I'd predict the majority of the people didn't even know what had happened earlier in the day. Yes, it is sad that something like that happened, but it happened in Kentucky, a small-market that does not get much publicity.

Since it didn't have an affect nationally, that is probably why the skit still ran.

Thanks for voicing the Hollywood mentality that probably led to the skit airing in the first place. Lexington, Kentucky is a small red state market, so who cares what happens there? It's unimportant that the worst plane crash since 2001 occurred on Sunday because it was in a small market, right?

So, hey lighten up! It's not like the lives of THOSE people are as important as the ones lost if the plane had gone down outside LA or New York. Now, THAT would be a tragedy, right? Isn't that what you're saying?

Ridiculous logic! Yet, it is almost certainly why the skit ran. Hey, it was in Kentucky - so it's no big deal! Typical New York/Hollywood disconnect with the rest of America. Just like how severe weather events in New York City lead the network newscasts - even if 90% of the country is unaffected. Myopia.

The fact is, the plane crash was headline news all day long on the 24-hour news channels and was featured as the lead in every newscast in America that night. Though many people may not have known about it, I'm sure that the majority did. Certainly, it was HUGE news in markets such as Cincinatti (home of Comair - and close to Lexington), Atlanta (destination of the doomed plane), Louisville, Lexington, and others in the region. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox ran with it all day - even trumping the release of the 2 kidnapped Fox reporters in Gaza.

Plane crashes are strange tragedies that affect people in a different way than most things do. The psychology of it is that people can easily identify with the victims of such an incident; in part, due to their powerlessness when sitting on a plane.

Airing the skit showed poor judgement and a lack of sensitivity on the part of NBC. Sure, if the special aired tonight it would be different. But, it was on the same day? Nope, it was a mistake and a tepid apology isn't enough to quell the bad feelings involved.

 

[Nertz!]

Why did NBC let this skit air?

Thank's for the well thought out comment.

This is just a case of someone who is trying to get publicity for his station. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[radiolover78]

Some people need to really lighten up.

I found the whole skit pretty funny, including the one with Dateline.