Monday, Mar 14

Police Restrain 'Good Morning America' Booker During 'Today' Interview

hostage1.jpgFirst on TVNewser: Atlanta police handcuffed Good Morning America booker Mike Nagel this morning after complaints about his disorderly conduct, TVNewser has learned. Nagel was trying to interrupt NBC's interview with Atlanta hostage Ashley Smith this morning. (And some of it happened on-air: does anyone have screen grabs from 'Today?') Here's how the incident unfolded, according to sources at both networks:

ABC, really, really wanted an exclusive interview with Smith. And they thought they had it: They were under the impression that they were the only network morning show with the Smith interview. But Smith's attorney had arranged for NBC's 'Today' show to pre-tape an interview with her prior to 7am. Then she would walk around the corner to ABC's bureau for a live chat on GMA.

NBC and Smith's attorney planned to pick the guest up at her mother's house, where she spent the night. But ABC beat them to it, sending a limo to pick Smith up -- against the attorney's request, according to NBC. (A rumor floating around 30 Rock says that Nagel pretended to work for NBC.) Smith hopped in the car and rode over to the ABC bureau. Needless to say, Smith's attorney wasn't thrilled. (ABCers believe it was a case of miscommunication between attorney and client.)

"When everyone figured out what happened, the guest's lawyer was furious and banned the interview from GMA," a tipster says. Eventually Smith made it to NBC's remote location around the corner from ABC's bureau. While Lauer was pre-taping his interviewing with Smith, "Nagel was doing whatever he could to get this interview to stop," according to an insider. Smith's attorney tried to calm him down, but the police had to get involved. He was not arrested or charged, though.

Nagel was released shortly thereafter. When an NBC camera crew asked if Nagel was a producer for GMA, he flippantly said he was with NBC. Watch for this story on the entertainment shows tonight...

"'Good Morning America' is blessed to have a top-notch staff of aggressive producers," a statement from the network said this afternoon. "Unfortunately, things got heated over a misunderstanding this morning. It has been resolved and we are moving forward to tomorrow's show."

> Mar. 10: "Good Morning America posted its best February sweeps ratings since 1991 and 'slashed the gap' with NBC by 65%."

> Update: 3:38pm: From an e-mailer: "I saw the 'Today Show' interview this morning with guy on cell phone in background clearly being disruptive and eventually being led away by police. I just thought it was some psycho wanting to get on TV..." You can pull the video off MSNBC.com's Videos page.

> Update: 6:40pm: Derek Rose has the play-by-play, based on 'Today' screen grabs.

Email This Post

Fill out the following information and click on the Send button in order to send this post, Police Restrain 'Good Morning America' Booker During 'Today' Interview, to a friend.
Friend's name
Friend's email address
Your name
Your email address
Note to your friend (optional, max 200 Characters)

Read more on TVNewser >

And Now the News...About TV News
TVNewser in Your Inbox
Mobile Version
RSS Feed
Our Blog Network

BayNewser

WebNewser

PRNewser

TVNewser

MediaJobsDaily

AgencySpy

GalleyCat

FishbowlNY

FishbowlDC

FishbowlLA

UnBeige

MobileContentToday

TVNewser Staff
Managing Editor:
Chris Ariens

Editor:
Kevin Allocca

Contributors:
Gail Shister
Alissa Krinsky


Email

Twitter

About
Anonymous Tips

  TVNewser twitter feed loading...

View twitter directly

Follow TVNewser on Twitter



Internsmall9-17.jpgIntern at TVNewser

Archives

November 2009

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

more...


Links

Broadcasting & Cable

BuzzMachine

FTVLive

Inside Cable News

The Live Feed

Media Decoder

NewsBlues

NewscastStudio

Newslab

Romenesko

TV Barn

TV by the Numbers

TVNewsCheck

TVSpy Watercooler

TVWeek

Variety

Z on TV

Topics

ABC

Al Jazeera

BBC

Bloomberg

CBS

CNBC

CNN

FNC

Fox Biz

HDNet

HLN

MSNBC

NBC

truTV


Awards & Accolades

Cable News Wars

Couric Watch

Exclusives That Aren't

Events

Funny

Generalities

Evening News Ratings

Morning Cable Ratings

Morning Media Menu

Morning Show Ratings

Morning Show Wars

Network Newsing

Now & Then

Ratings

Revolving Door

Site Announcements

State of the News Media

Studies & Research

Sunday Shows

The Ticker

Top Stories

WebNewser

Year in Review


09/11/06

2008 Conventions

A Year Of Katrina

Bird Flu

Court Cases

Hurricane

Iraq

NAB-RTNDA

Obits

Olympics

Politics

The Pope

Questions

Supreme Court

Job Listings

Featured Listings

HR Generalist
WNYC Radio
New York, NY

Account Executive - Denver
The Bump
Denver, CO

Account Executive / Assistant Account Executive
Broadcast Public Relations
New York, NY

Online Account Manager
Clear Channel Digital
Burbank, CA

ADVERTISEMENT


mediabistro.com l Member Benefits l Jobs l Freelance Marketplace l Courses l Events l Forums l Content
mediabistro Blogs: Media News l TVNewser l GalleyCat l UnBeige l FishbowlNY l FishbowlLA l FishbowlDC l PRNewser l AgencySpy
MobileContentToday l WebNewser l BayNewser l MediaJobsDaily l mbToolbox
Site Map l Advertising/Sponsorships l Partners l About Us l Contact Us/Help

internet.commediabistro.comJusttechjobs.comGraphics.com

Search:

WebMediaBrands Corporate Info

Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints, Permissions, Privacy Policy.
Advertise | Newsletters | Shopping | E-mail Offers