Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

NBC Fires Employee for Posting 'What Is the Internet' Clip
aolnews.com ^ | 2-6-11

Posted on 02/06/2011 10:46:48 AM PST by Justaham

An NBC worker who posted old footage from the "Today" show of the hosts wondering, "What is the Internet anyway?" has been fired, the network confirmed, saying the person had a history of distributing material without permission.

The footage, in which Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel and Elizabeth Vargas try to figure out the Internet and e-mail addresses, made the rounds via said Internet last week, posted and re-posted to Facebook pages and sent via e-mail.

Filmed in 1994, the clip features Gumbel demanding, with a befuddled expression: "What is the Internet anyway?" and Couric stumbling to define it as: "that massive computer network, the one that's becoming really big now."

In a statement, NBC confirmed it fired the employee responsible for first distributing the footage.

"The individual in question violated the company's standards of conduct by repeatedly copying and distributing a variety of materials without permission," the statement said. It was reported on media-watching websites including All Things Digital and PaidContent.

In the clip, Gumbel also complains about e-mail addresses, particularly "that little mark with the 'a' and the ring around it."

As the clip gained attention, "Today" itself featured the footage and current host Matt Lauer laughingly noted: "We all felt that way at the time. It was a mystery to all of us."

(Excerpt) Read more at aolnews.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Conspiracy; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bryant; bryantgumbel; couric; elizabethvargas; gumbel; internet; katiecouric; katietheclown; nbc; perkypig; vargas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-32 next last

1 posted on 02/06/2011 10:46:49 AM PST by Justaham
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Justaham

Wouldn’t that be “....distributing material that shows liberals in a bad light without permission....”?


2 posted on 02/06/2011 10:52:27 AM PST by Da Coyote
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

I wonder how these idiots would feel if they had a PC Manning on board.. and yet they’re the first ones to think hes great.


3 posted on 02/06/2011 10:52:50 AM PST by Track9 (Make War!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham
Filmed in 1994, the clip features Gumbel demanding, with a befuddled expression: "What is the Internet anyway?" and Couric stumbling to define it as: "that massive computer network, the one that's becoming really big now."
4 posted on 02/06/2011 10:52:50 AM PST by jessduntno (When will we learn? Given enough ROP, they'll hang SOMEONE.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

It just reminds us how pathetic and out of date their talking heads are now.

Couric :
The standard unit measurement for mass weight of feces. The European Fecal Standards & Measurements Board in Zürich keeps track of the authenticity of its records. “one Katie Couric is about two and a half pounds of human excrement”

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=couric


5 posted on 02/06/2011 10:53:33 AM PST by Christian Engineer Mass (25ish Cambridge, MA grad student. Any potential conservative Christian FReepmail-FRiends out there?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham
"What is the Internet anyway?"

It's the liberal/marxist/RAT media's worst nightmare.

6 posted on 02/06/2011 10:54:08 AM PST by unixfox (Abolish Slavery, Repeal The 16th Amendment!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham
Heh... the person in question should have distributed this clip instead. For those of you not familiar with the Jay and Silent Bob movies, this contains profanity.
7 posted on 02/06/2011 10:54:35 AM PST by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

“Filmed in 1994...”


8 posted on 02/06/2011 10:54:47 AM PST by speciallybland
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

Gumbel said, “What is internet?” and then went on to draw the @ sign with his finger several times while wondering out loud what it was. He looked like an idiot but he has always appeared pompous and arrogant to me anyway. What a tool. Glad his ugly mug isn’t on a tv station we watch.


9 posted on 02/06/2011 10:56:02 AM PST by Cowgirl of Justice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

Just proves they were clueless and stupid back then and they still haven’t learned anything.


10 posted on 02/06/2011 10:57:30 AM PST by surfer (To err is human, to really foul things up takes a Democrat, don't expect the GOP to have the answer!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

Releasing this clip did more to promote the TODAY show than anything NBC has done in decades and they fire the poor guy over it.

It was a master-stroke of genius to release this!


11 posted on 02/06/2011 11:00:00 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (Too many conservatives urge retreat when the war of politics doesn't go their way.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jessduntno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUs7iG1mNjI


12 posted on 02/06/2011 11:00:15 AM PST by politicianslie (A taxpayer voting for Obama is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Justaham
"What is the Internet anyway?"
The Internet is ABC/NBC/CBS's worst nightmare.

"The individual in question violated the company's standards of conduct (guffaw) by repeatedly copying and distributing a variety of materials without permission," the statement said.
Now, now...this is just the gatekeepers guarding the gates.
The "free press" isn't so free after all.

13 posted on 02/06/2011 11:02:33 AM PST by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham
"What is the Internet anyway?"

They would have known if they'd watched Rush Limbaugh's TV show and signed up for Compuserve.

14 posted on 02/06/2011 11:08:21 AM PST by seowulf ("If you write a whole line of zeroes, it's still---nothing"...Kira Alexandrovna Argounova)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

NBC should’ve posted the clip now and had fun with it. Back in ‘94 nobody knew how the Internet would affect our lives. The clip belongs right up there with “a world market for 3 computers” by the CEO of IBM and “who could possibly need more than 640k” by Bill Gates.


15 posted on 02/06/2011 11:14:14 AM PST by Squawk 8888 (Will work for chocolate)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Squawk 8888; Swordmaker; dayglored
“who could possibly need more than 640k” by Bill Gates.

There's still a lot of debate about whether Gates actually said that, but this definitely happened.

< |:)~

16 posted on 02/06/2011 11:26:40 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: politicianslie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUs7iG1mNjI

Hilarious ... if it was 1984, it would still be weird for a professional information company (supposedly) to be so hopelessly stupid.


17 posted on 02/06/2011 11:31:38 AM PST by jessduntno (When will we learn? Given enough ROP, they'll hang SOMEONE.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

In the clip, Gumbel also complains about e-mail addresses, particularly “that little mark with the ‘a’ and the ring around it.”

On keyboards since 1910 ... these morons ever write anything in their lives? Is it because it is more likely to be used in business?

http://www.typewritermuseum.org/collection/indexk.html


18 posted on 02/06/2011 11:36:05 AM PST by jessduntno (When will we learn? Given enough ROP, they'll hang SOMEONE.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

Everything is still a mystery to them!


19 posted on 02/06/2011 11:48:10 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, A Matter of Fact, Not a Matter of Opinion)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Justaham

As funny as it is; and profitable or not, theft is still theft...or at least misappropriation...of company property.


20 posted on 02/06/2011 12:00:34 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (Made in America, by proud American citizens, in 1946.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-32 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson