On June 13th, when Meet The Press host Tim Russert passed away suddenly of a heart attack, NBC tried to keep the news from going public for more than an hour in order to notify his family of what had occurred.
The newsman had been vacationing in Italy with his wife and son.
At around 1:40pm, Russert collapsed from a heart attack in NBC's Washington newsroom.
He was treated on the spot and arrived at the hospital at 2:23pm. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
Then at 3:39pm, just two hours after Russert collapsed, Tom Brokaw announced the death. Though, shockingly enough, before the death was reported on air, the news had already leaked onto the internets and even made it's way onto Wikipedia.
Russert's Wikipedia page was updated at 3:01pm, about 40 minutes prior to NBC officially releasing their statement with news of his death.
It's tradition that the network suffering the death is allowed to make the announcement first.
NBC News spokeswoman, Allison Gollust, said “We were not prepared to say anything until all the family had heard. The last thing we wanted to do was to have the family discover this on the air. Before we reported it, I remember someone saying it’s on Wikipedia."
When the detailed records of the Wikipedia page were reviewed, it was determined the changes came from the Internet Broadcasting Services, which services a variety of companies, including local NBC TV stations in St. Paull, Minnesota.
A spokesperson for IBS has said that “a junior-level employee made updates to the Wikipedia page upon learning of Mr. Russert’s passing, thinking it was public record.” Adding that the company had "taken the necessary measures with the employee and apologized to NBC.”
NBC News was told the employee was fired.
[Image via WENN.]