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It was hard to avoid the wall-to-wall coverage of the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Tuesday, especially at 8:46 am, when NYPD officials and FDNY members observed a moment of silence from Ground Zero in New York and President Obama observed the moment at the White House. That is, unless you were watching NBC's Today show.
The network chose to air an interview with Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Kris Jenner discussing the upcoming season of her show and her breast implants just as the clock struck 8:46.
The network was torched with criticism.
Despite suggestions on social media that NBC apologize for the gaffe abounded, none will be forthcoming, a spokeswoman for the show said, reports the New York Times. The simple reason: Unlike its competitors, the Today show has not maintained a tradition of offering a moment of silence on 9/11 mornings. Other than an observation on the 10th anniversary of the attack, Today has not included a moment of silence in its 9/11 shows since 2006.
Is NBC's PR team handling this situation correctly? The lack of a public apology, when paired with the fact that the moment was observed on the West Coast, appears incongruous. What are your thoughts?
Follow Bill Miltenberg: @bmiltenberg
The show should apologize for an obvious mistake. An apology is a sign of strength, not weakness, and go a long way toward healing hurt feelings.