WBTV Explains Why It Reported Billy Graham’s Death

Andrew Gauthier — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:39:35 +0000

Early Saturday morning Charlotte CBS-affiliate WBTV mistakenly reported that Billy Graham had died. About a half hour later, the station retracted the report, blaming it on “some incorrect information” received from CBS News.

WBTV news director Dennis Milligan posted a statement on the station’s website following the mix-up. Here’s what happened, according to Milligan:

On Saturday during its early morning newscast, WBTV News mistakenly reported the passing of the Rev. Billy Graham. Our show producer read what he thought was a breaking news crawl about Rev. Graham on an off- air network feed. continued…

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WBTV Mistakenly Reports Death of Billy Graham

Andrew Gauthier — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:00:31 +0000

Shortly after 6:30 on Saturday morning, Charlotte CBS-affiliate WBTV reported that Billy Graham had died. The news was especially significant considering that Graham was born in Charlotte and has been a social luminary in North Carolina for decades.

In fact, the influential Christian leader was very much alive after spending a “restful night” at an Asheville hospital as he battles pneumonia.

Just before 7 a.m., WBTV anchor Kristen Miranda corrected the station’s mistake. continued…

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WBTV Explains Why It Reported Billy Graham’s Death

WBTV Mistakenly Reports Death of Billy Graham