Posted on 11/26/2005 12:00:25 PM PST by wagglebee
During its live coverage of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, NBC did not tell viewers that a giant balloon had caught on a street lamp and injured two sisters.
At the point in the broadcast when the "M&M's Chocolate Candies" balloon was supposed to have crossed the finish line, announcers Katie Couric, Matt Lauer and Al Roker stuck close to their scripts and the network ran footage of the balloon from last year's parade.
Couric told the audience they were seeing old footage and bantered with Lauer and Roker, but there was no further mention of the accident.
An NBC spokeswoman said Friday that producers knew something had happened with the balloon but didn't know exactly what.
"There was no further comment on air at that point in time because we did not have further information," said Cameron Blanchard, a spokeswoman for NBC's entertainment division, which is responsible for the parade broadcast.
The accident happened in Times Square, where the balloon's tethers became entangled on the head of a street lamp and knocked part of it off.
Sarah and Mary Chamberlain, 11 and 26, were hit by the debris. Sarah needed nine stitches to her head, and Mary, who uses a wheelchair, suffered a bump on her forehead.
Their father, Stephen Chamberlain, called it a freak accident and said the family didn't plan to sue. He said his daughters are looking forward to the special VIP seating Macy's offered them for next year's parade.
"They are remarkable young ladies," Macy's spokeswoman Elina Kazan said. "We're very sad they were injured."
The street lamp had been among those replaced following a similar incident in 1997 that seriously injured two people. The old lamp posts had arms that extended over the parade route. The new posts are lighter and smaller.
It's ironic that about that time my husband and I were talking about how I used to think it was required every year (when I was little) for a balloon to get caught on something. We were talking about how much it would hurt for one of those to just deflate all at once because of the weight.
I find it more noteworthy this family isn't going to sue in this day and age. Admirable, imo, though I hope at least someone is covering the stiches and medical examinations.
Maybe they just figured we wouldn't find out it.
. . . find out about it.
I wish I could remember for sure which channel I watched the parade on. That channel didn't show the accident as it happened, but showed it a few minutes later after the area was cordoned off and as the injured were loaded into ambulances - but still during the parade.
I post items on a news blog and went Googling for a link after I heard about it from TV.
As far as I know, the Macy's Thanksgiving parade is ONLY on NBC. I didn't watch it, so I have no idea other than what I've read and heard from others.
As far as I know, the Macy's Thanksgiving parade is ONLY on NBC. I didn't watch it, so I have no idea other than what I've read and heard from others.If this is true, then Breitbart may wind up with an eggy face... Like I said, it wasn't covered the instant it happened, but who knows where on the parade route the mishap occured in relation to where judging or TV crews were set up (and how long it might have taken for a cameraman to get there). It was covered a very short while later, before the parade coverage ended. This seems like an unneccessary smear to me.
My Thanksgiving would have been ruined if I had heard about this SNAFU. Thank God for Couric and Lauer who kept me, and the rest of our citizens, from going into panic depression.
It's not Breitbart, it's AP.
Bingo!
A remarkable demonstration of restraint.
If they'd mentioned it, then they would have had to spend the rest of the show obsessing over it. They'd have had to create a screen image of the accident, played dramatic music, and then led with the line "and now back to our coverage of the tragic Macy's balloon accident in NY...." An endless series of balloon and medical "experts" would be paraded in front of the cameras, with prodding questions like, "Now when something like this happens, what is the first thing that the first responders are supposed to do, and did they do it in this instance?"
LMAO!
Not reporting it is one thing, but showing old footage and pretending nothing happened? What else does NBC show on-screen that we should not believe?
You actually watched the parade?
Uh, sorry; when a balloon sends two people to the hospital, it becomes news.
When the real news.
Is fake.
or is it real?
Is he a real actor ?
Do they pimp their logo to anyone?
Will they let Saddam use their logo for his trial ?
Real ?
Only if you want it to be.
I like your idea.....but I think hot air would be more appropriate.....and the location of the burner would be just about right.
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