CBS Apologizes for Breaking With Arafat News
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CBS (search) apologized Thursday for breaking into its prime-time drama "CSI: NY" for a special report on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's (search) death, blaming an "overly aggressive" producer.
The 10:55 p.m. EST report on Wednesday cut off the ending of the popular forensics drama, prompting a cascade of viewer complaints.
The network said the "CSI: NY" (search) episode would be repeated in its entirety 10 p.m. EST Friday.
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The report came just five minutes before local news broadcasts in the East and Midwest. ABC and NBC waited until the local news to break the story; in the West, NBC ran a "crawl" with the news at the bottom of the screen.
"An overly aggressive CBS News producer jumped the gun with a report that should have been offered to local stations for their late news," the network said in a statement. "We sincerely regret the error."
CBS News spokeswoman Sandy Genelius declined to identify the producer or say whether the person faced disciplinary action.