|
 An NBC executive who spoke on condition of anonymity because the
person is not involved in booking "Today" show guests confirmed the
cancellation, first reported by Fox News. NBC hopes to reschedule
Lauer's trip to Alaska for the holiday season interview, the
executive said.
Palin has proven a potent ratings-grabber for the second-place
morning show, where she once appeared as a guest host.
Bashir apologized Monday for suggesting that someone defecate in
Palin's mouth because of a remark she made comparing the United
States' indebtedness to China with slavery. MSNBC has not responded
to repeated queries about whether Bashir will face disciplinary
action. Bashir anchored his show on Wednesday.
Last Friday, the same day Bashir made his comment, MSNBC suspended
weekly talk show host Alec Baldwin for two weeks for using an
anti-gay slur in a street confrontation.
Palin's political action committee has written to MSNBC President
Phil Griffin and NBC News President Deborah Turness asking whether
Bashir would be disciplined. Tim Crawford, treasurer of Palin's PAC,
said in the letter that "Americans deserve to know that your network
doesn't condone violent and hateful rhetoric."
NBC News has sought to separate itself from MSNBC and the cable
network's programming that largely appeals to a liberal fan base,
despite the networks sharing ownership and some personnel.
[to top of second column] |
 Bashir had criticized Palin and her "long-diseased
mind" after playing video of her speech about China. He told the
story of Thomas Thistlewood, a former overseer at a plantation who
described in diaries how he dealt with wayward slaves by, in one
case, having another slave defecate in the mouth of the miscreant.
In another case, someone urinated in the face of a slave being
punished.
Bashir said that when Palin talks about slavery,
she's a candidate for the same punishment.
Crawford noted Baldwin's punishment in his letter, as well as
MSNBC's firing of Don Imus in 2007 for an offensive comment about
members of the Rutgers women's basketball team. Crawford said he
wondered whether discipline had more to do with the target of the
remarks rather than the remarks themselves.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Palin posted on Facebook her brother's
response to a tweet by singer Cher referring to Palin as a "dumb C
word." It's not clear what set the singer off, although her tweet
came on the same day of Bashir's telecast.
Palin's brother, Chuck Heath, said he was sorry to hear Cher make
such "vile comments" about his sister.
"It's sad because Sarah has never had a harsh word to say about
you," Heath wrote. "In fact, our grandmother was one of your biggest
fans."
[Associated
Press; DAVID BAUDER]
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