Posted on 01/02/2008 10:56:31 AM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - A former "Dateline NBC" correspondent claims that in the aftermath of September 11, the network diverted him from reporting on al Qaeda and instead wanted him to ride along with the country's "forgotten heroes," firefighters.
John Hockenberry, who was laid off from "Dateline" in early 2005, wrote in this month's Technology Review that on the Sunday after the September 2001 attacks he was pitching stories on the origins of al Qaeda and Islamic fundamentalism. He claimed that then-NBC programming chief Jeff Zucker, who came into a meeting Hockenberry was having with "Dateline" executive producer David Corvo, said "Dateline" should instead focus on the firefighters and perhaps ride along with them a la "Cops," the Fox reality series.
According to Hockenberry, Zucker said "that he had no time for any subtitled interviews with jihadists raging about Palestine."
NBC News wasn't impressed by this or any of Hockenberry's other claims.
"It's unfortunate that John Hockenberry seems to be so far out of touch with reality," an NBC spokesperson said. "The comments are so utterly absurd, we will have no further comment." Another NBC executive said it didn't sound like Zucker, who was promoted out of the news division and was at one time "Today" executive producer.
Hockenberry is a distinguished fellow at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Mass. But for more than 20 years, he was a broadcast journalist working at National Public Radio, ABC News and from 1996-2005, a correspondent at "Dateline." Hockenberry's blistering article trained much of its fire on the controversial NBC newsmagazine, which has been criticized for its "To Catch a Predator" series -- a "highly rated pile of programming debris," in Hockenberry's words.
Another bombshell is Hockenberry's claims that General Electric, NBC's parent company, discouraged him from talking to the Bin Laden family about their estranged family member. Hockenberry asked GE, which does business with the Bin Laden family company, to help him get in contact with them. Instead, a PR executive called Hockenberry's hotel room in Saudi Arabia and read a statement about how GE didn't see its "valuable business relationship" with the Bin Laden Group as having anything to do with "Dateline."
In another instance, Hockenberry claimed a story he did about a Weather Underground member wouldn't appear on the Sunday edition of "Dateline" unless its lead-out, the 1960s family drama "American Dreams," did a show about "protesters or something." And for another story on the abuse of mentally ill inmates, Hockenberry was told by a producer that video of a fatal attack on a prisoner by guards wasn't enough.
NBC = Nothing But Crap.
isn’t he the guy in the wheelchair?
Sure took him a long time to see the light. As they say, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Hockenberry was part of the problem. Now, if he's trying to be part of the solution, I salute him. But I wonder if he's just bitter.
Yes.
My guess is Hockenberry is one of those lefties who desperately tried to define 9/11 in its immediate aftermath as “all about Palestine” or Jews in general.
He did work for National Palestine Radio after all.
I think the new name for NPR is National Cap and Trade Radio.
Notice NBC doesn't actually deny Hockenberry's statements here. The non-denial denial.
NBC = Nothing But Crap.
I’m still laughing!!!!!
It kind of strikes me as odd to demand a guy who is confined to a wheel chair 'ride along' with firemen. No matter how good a reporter he may be, that's seems to be asking a lot.
I haven’t seen it much, but I think “To Catch A Predator” is one of the best uses of TV I’ve ever seen. Anything that makes it harder for child rapists is something I’m on board with.
He's not part of the solution. He wanted to do stories about how it's all really America's fault. The NBC execs were happy to do those kinds of stories, but they weren't crazy enough to do them in September 2001.
So NBC’s reporting is slanted in favor of America’s enemies. So GE is doing business with America’s enemies. So what else is new?
BTW, did you see my letter on O’Reilly about this?
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