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[johnsmith]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...-top-table-main_nbctape-1215am:homepage/story

NBC News was aware of video footage of Donald Trump making lewd and disparaging remarks about women for nearly four days, a network executive said Saturday, but delayed reporting about the story out of concern that Trump would sue the network.

The delay led to an awkward result: NBC News was scooped by The Washington Post, which took just five hours to vet and post its story. The Post acted on a tip from a source who was apparently frustrated by NBC’s procrastination over airing perhaps the most consequential story of the 2016 presidential campaign.

By Tuesday morning, NBC News determined that the footage was newsworthy, and began to prepare a story. The news division agreed to let “Access Hollywood” break the story first, given that it had shot and unearthed the tape, according to an NBC executive who agreed to give the network’s account on condition he not be named or quoted directly.

But the tape languished, unseen by the public, for several days after it first came to light.

Although NBC and “Access” both recognized the newsworthiness of the tape and intended to air it, it first had to undergo a review by the company’s lawyers, the executive said. The executive was unaware of any specific legal issue raised by airing an 11-year-old recording of a presidential candidate who was apparently aware at the time that he was being recorded by a TV program.

However, the network was concerned that Trump could take legal action; the Republican nominee threatened to sue NBC last year after the network’s entertainment division dropped plans to air the Miss USA beauty pageant in the wake of Trump’s inflammatory remarks about Mexican immigrants. Trump backed off those threats when NBC sold its share of the pageant’s rights to him in September 2015.

...

Although the news division had nearly completed its work on the story by Friday morning, the story was still not scheduled to air by then. “Access Hollywood,” a daily program, had also not established an air date for its piece.

At that point, a still-anonymous source forced the issue. The source called Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold around 11 a.m. Friday morning and pointed him to a copy of the tape on which Trump brags to “Access Hollywood” co-host Billy Bush that his celebrity status entitles him to grope women.

So NBC had this racist host SNL

Had Jimmy Fallon playfully toussle his hair

Had Matt Lauer lob the softest of balls

And was going to sit on this indefinitely. Fuck you, NBC.

 

[Smellycat]

smh

 

[EatinOlives]

What the fuck, NBC

Just...what the fuck

 

[Xamtheking]

In the Media Circus, NBC has usurped FOX for Ringleader

 

[super-famicom]

NBC: No Balls Company

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I'm gonna buy NBC and turn it around

I think the network might cost 1 million dollars.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

Nationalist Broadcasting Company?

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Well Trump is in tight with the lawyer that brought down Gawker, right? So you have Hulk Hogan to blame for this partially.

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

The SNL thing alone was pretty much all you need to tell that NBC cancelled The Apprentice solely for the PR.

 

[robotrock]

Smh NBC.

 

[Yoda]

NBC wouldn't be able to use the "anonymous source" protection in the same vein the Washington Post can (they produce Access Hollywood). At the end of the day, NBC cares about the bottom line more than a political candidate's ambitions; behaving exactly as expected for a public corporation.

 

[BocoDragon]

Seems like they were going to air it.. they were just taking their time.

 

[Sianos]

that liberal media sure is at it again, huh?

 

[Totakeke]

The collateral damage from this has been amazing.

 

[JaseMath]

Makes sense. After all, The Apprentice is an NBC program. They're going to want that ratings boost if Trump ever returns when/if he loses. Either, for shame.

 

[MetalGearZed]

Nationalist Broadcasting Company?

good

NBC: No Balls Company

better

 

[The Lone Courier]

NBC has always been in bed with Trump. They weren't worried about a lawsuit they were just looking out for their boy,

 

[The Faceless Master]

lamestream media covering for their ratings kingpin

 

[Syncytia]

Just going to grab this from PoliGAF...

I'd take a look at this. NBC owns Access Hollywood. Unless both Trump and Bush consented to being recorded (given this was California), there's actually a legal issue at play here for NBC if they published it. Given they were in a moving bus at the time, that could potentially create an expectation of privacy for them. Had they not been on a bus NBC would have been free and clear. Due to a lack of expectation of privacy.

EDIT: This is a better site to explain how recording laws work, state by state. http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/california

It's kinda bad they didn't publish it but they were kind of in a weird situation.

 

[demon]

Trump will sue over anything. He sued Bill Maher for calling his dad an orangutan. NBC was really worried about this? Sad. Pathetic. Real losers.

 

[Sanjuro]

Well Trump is in tight with the lawyer that brought down Gawker, right? So you have Hulk Hogan to blame for this partially.

What does this have to do with anything?

 

[WedgeX]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck NBC, Jimmy Fallon, and the associated celebrities. They KNEW what they had in front of them and did jack shit.

 

[johnsmith]

Just going to grab this from PoliGAF...

It's kinda bad they didn't publish it but they were kind of in a weird situation.

NBC wouldn't be able to use the "anonymous source" protection in the same vein the Washington Post can (they produce Access Hollywood). At the end of the day, NBC cares about the bottom line more than a political candidate's ambitions; behaving exactly as expected for a public corporation.

Nope.

Please read the article

Although NBC and “Access” both recognized the newsworthiness of the tape and intended to air it, it first had to undergo a review by the company’s lawyers, the executive said. The executive was unaware of any specific legal issue raised by airing an 11-year-old recording of a presidential candidate who was apparently aware at the time that he was being recorded by a TV program.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

What does this have to do with anything?

Peter Thiel and Trump are both willing to use lawsuits to silence media they don't like. The Hogan case showed that they can be successful at it. NBC feared lawsuits from Trump.

 

[Syncytia]

What does this have to do with anything?

Peter Thiel is an actual billionaire and can prop up Trump/suing journalists unfavorable to Trump, I guess.

 

[demon]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck NBC, Jimmy Fallon, and the associated celebrities. They KNEW what they had in front of them and did jack shit.

Well I don't know about Jimmy Fallon. He's just NBC's dancing monkey, I kinda doubt he knew about it. It's all around pretty disgusting though.

 

[B-Dubs]

Nope.

Please read the article

Unless they knew the mic was on at the time, they did have an expectation of privacy in that bus.

 

[chaislip3]

Deplorable

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Peter Thiel and Trump are both willing to use lawsuits to silence media they don't like. The Hogan case showed that they can be successful at it. NBC feared lawsuits from Trump.

Is Hogan comparable to this? Gawker had no reason to do what they did. Trump is running for president and is obviously a public figure.

 

[neshcom]

Just going to grab this from PoliGAF...



It's kinda bad they didn't publish it but they were kind of in a weird situation.

But they were on that bus to record that AH segment. They had to have been mic'd ahead of time and known they'd be heard the entire time. They roll from one part of the conversation into recording the AH segment, so it's not like they were waiting an unexpected amount of time.

 

[Sanjuro]

Peter Thiel and Trump are both willing to use lawsuits to silence media they don't like. The Hogan case showed that they can be successful at it. NBC feared lawsuits from Trump.

Gawker played a sex video that was filmed without consent.

NBC had footage of an individual who was aware he had a mic on him and didn't go forward due to self interest.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

Seems like they were going to air it.. they were just taking their time.

Whatever person actually working there that leaked it didn't seem to think so.

 

[B-Dubs]

But they were on that bus to record that AH segment. They had to have been mic'd ahead of time and known they'd be heard the entire time. They roll from one part of the conversation into recording the AH segment, so it's not like they were waiting an unexpected amount of time.

The problem is, did they know it was a part of the segment or did they think they were just travelling to where the segment was being filmed? Knowing they could be heard isn't exactly consenting to being recorded, but it could also potentially get rid of the expectation of privacy they had not being in a public place. Their lawyers could well have been grappling with that issue.

EDIT: I should say I think they absolutely should have run it, any lawsuits be damned, but there is a certain amount of uncertainty on NBC's side legally here.

 

[VendettaRed07]

Well it worked out for the best this way...so oh well.

 

[Diprosalic]

fuck NBC. seriously.

 

[Syncytia]

Nope.

Please read the article

Alright. How about this

Networks still want to time when they release stuff for maximum coverage.

Tuesday was the VP debate, they didn't need anything.
Wednesday was talking about the VP debate.
Thursday-Saturday was supposed to be all Hurricane Matthew.
Sunday-Tuesday is all 2nd debate.

They probably were legitimately concerned about a lawsuit from the Trump side... his favorite thing to do is sue people. If it's the media, even better.

Also before everyone goes out on a witchhunt, it's not like we are post election talking about something they didn't release. There's still a month. You think they wouldn't want to release something this big? They knew this would be huge, they just needed to figure out costs of potential lawsuits and when to get this into the narrative. I really don't see them not releasing this before the election.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

What this really comes down to is ethics in journal-

I'm going to stop right there haha. I'm actually more disgusted by Fallon having Trump on his show like this was just a regular election cycle.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Gawker played a sex video that was filmed without consent.

NBC had footage of an individual who was aware he had a mic on him and didn't go forward due to self interest.

The point isn't the relative merits of the cases, it's that Trump and his allies are willing to sue even if their case is weak, and a recent victory has emboldened them.

 

[Yoda]

Nope.

Please read the article

That quote says an execute (i.e. no a lawyer) didn't think it'd be an issue, which doesn't contradict my point. That doesn't mean it isn't an issue. There are libel laws and w/e the contract Trump signed w/the show which both would have to be put under consideration.

 

[Alex Stroud]

NBC is really as horrible as 30 Rock always joked it was.

 

[Cerium]

I think they actually wanted to protect Billy Bush, who was recently promoted to co-host for the Today show, which is huge for NBC.

 

[m_dorian]

Pussy not grabbed by NBC.

 

[neshcom]

The problem is, did they know it was a part of the segment or did they think they were just travelling to where the segment was being filmed? Knowing they could be heard isn't exactly consenting to being recorded, but it could also potentially get rid of the expectation of privacy they had not being in a public place.

I mean, they get off and roll right into meeting the actress and the walk-and-talk. I don't know how their expectation to privacy would intersect here, but my takeaway from the video was that they were only waiting on the bus during those b-roll clips so they could start the segment by getting off the bus. They're also wearing lapel mics, so it isn't like this was some hidden/camera microphone they might not have known was there.

Edit to your edit: Agreed. This is a weird place of the law where common sense might not necessarily match up with legality.

 

[Wanda/Wander]

Pussy not grabbed by NBC.

Haha I shouldn't at laugh at this

This is already a meme isn't it?

 

[Sanjuro]

The point isn't the relative merits of the cases, it's that Trump and his allies are willing to sue even if their case is weak, and a recent victory has emboldened them.

Still doesn't make sense or a direct link. Would NBC break any law in releasing the footage? That's for their lawyers to decide.

 

[Cerium]

I agree the legal angle doesn't make sense.

They were trying to find a way to air it without sacrificing Billy Bush. They couldn't do it.

 

[B-Dubs]

I mean, they get off and roll right into meeting the actress and the walk-and-talk. I don't know how their expectation to privacy would intersect here, but my takeaway from the video was that they were only waiting on the bus during those b-roll clips so they could start the segment by getting off the bus. They're also wearing lapel mics, so it isn't like this was some hidden/camera microphone they might not have known was there.

That's the issue though. If they didn't know the mics were hot, or assumed this wouldn't be used, then it's potentially a private conversation in a non-public place. Of course given the mics are there it could take away that protection. My point was there is a small amount of legal uncertainty there in terms of if they are allowed to release this or not.

I agree the legal angle doesn't make sense.

They were trying to find a way to air it without sacrificing Billy Bush. They couldn't do it.

I mean, they were probably fine legally but there's room for a suing lawyer to make an argument the other way.

Agreed that they may have been looking for a way to protect Bush, but in the end everyone was in agreement that it needed to get out there.

 

[Fracas]

I don't blame them for taking extra precautions but I'm glad it came out relatively quickly.

 

[DOWN]

Hope they learned from it. But the fact they let Trump host SNL after they supposedly cancelled his Apprentice gig due to his deplorable character shows they are soft on Trump.

 

[TheXbox]