"If it was possible for NBC's cable network, MSNBC, to report the [Macy's parade] accident -- before NBC's own parade coverage ended -- then someone should have gotten a word" to Matt Lauer and Katie Couric, Richard Huff says.

"Instead, NBC left Lauer and Couric journalistically dangling and, as a result, risked their credibility with viewers."

> Also: "Word from inside NBC was they stayed mum because no one told them what was going on. They just knew that the giant M&M's balloon never made it to Herald Square...Couric didn't learn about the accident until she was off the air, and Lauer apparently found out when he got home."

> Update: 1:06pm: "What a load of hooey. Katie and Matt didn't know," an e-mailer says. "Why not? Because they were too busy reading from their scripts about the adventures of M&M's? Anyone who knows television and live broadcasts knows perfectly well that the producers were watching the breaking news coverage -- and surely explained to the anchors why Mr M&M wasn't going to make it to the finish line..."