nbc once again finds itself in the news instead of just covering it. the network was on the defensive after the emergence of a recording of one of its rising stars, <u+201c>today show<u+201d> co-anchor billy bush, engaging in a lewd conversation with donald trump in 2005. the tape, which was first published by the washington post friday, has upended the presidential race a month before election day. at the time of the conversation, mr. bush was a co-host of nbc<u+2019>s entertainment news magazine <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> and was taking part in a piece about mr. trump<u+2019>s appearance on the daytime soap opera <u+201c>days of our lives.<u+201d> after initially saying mr. bush wouldn<u+2019>t be reprimanded and would be on monday<u+2019>s <u+201c>today<u+201d> program, the network on sunday did an about-face and said mr. bush was suspended pending further review <u+201c>there is simply no excuse for billy<u+2019>s language and behavior on that tape,<u+201d> <u+201c>today<u+201d> executive producer noah oppenheim said in a memo to the show<u+2019>s staff. nbc also faced questions about its handling of the news story concerning the tape and whether it was delaying publication to protect mr. bush. <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> had discovered the tape in its archives and was working on a story early last week, as was nbc<u+2019>s news unit, people familiar with the situation say. both outlets were beaten to the punch by the post, and they released their own stories later friday. capital journal is wsj.com<u+2019>s home for election 2016 news. an nbc executive said the delay had to do with legal issues in publishing the recording, and that protecting mr. bush, who is 44 years old, <u+201c>was never part of any timing or part of the decision process.<u+201d> a nephew of president george h.w. bush and a cousin of president george w. bush, billy bush has been a radio and television personality specializing in entertainment. mr. bush recently was named co-anchor of the third hour of <u+201c>today,<u+201d> the network<u+2019>s morning news program. he was heavily criticized for his handling of an interview with olympic swimmer ryan lochte, who lied about being robbed at gunpoint while in rio. this isn<u+2019>t the first time nbcuniversal<u+2019>s operations have been under scrutiny this election season. cnbc took heat from republicans for a primary debate in which critics said the moderators were unnecessarily hostile. nbc<u+2019>s matt lauer was viewed by some observers as unprepared and too easy on mr. trump during a recent town hall. and moderator lester holt <u+2019>s fact-checking of mr. trump in the first presidential debate became a story line for both campaigns. at nbc, discussions about how to cover the story reached the office of nbcuniversal chief executive steve burke, two people familiar with the situation said.<u+00a0>nbc lawyers pored over the tape to determine if there could be claims it was illegally recorded, an issue that the washington post didn<u+2019>t have to worry about because it wasn<u+2019>t the owner of the material, one of the nbc executives said. it was determined that mr. trump didn<u+2019>t have any reasonable expectation of privacy in the <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> taping, and nbc was preparing to break the news when the washington post story hit, the executive said. <u+201c>there was no massive delay associated with this,<u+201d> the executive noted. in the tape that leaked friday, mr. trump spoke of the privileges he believes fame affords him with women. on the recording, mr. bush eggs on mr. trump and they talk crudely about the woman mr. trump will be filming his scene with on the soap. he also discussed his failure in trying to seduce a married woman, mr. bush<u+2019>s then co-host nancy o<u+2019>dell. mr. bush<u+2019>s facebook page filled up with comments from users angry about his participation in the exchange, with some using words like <u+201c>disgusting<u+201d> and <u+201c>deplorable<u+201d> to describe his conduct, and calling on nbc to fire him. <u+201c>surely you wouldn<u+2019>t have someone on your staff that has been publicly caught humiliating women,<u+201d> one reader said in a remark aimed at nbc. in a statement, mr. bush said, <u+201c>obviously i<u+2019>m embarrassed and ashamed. it<u+2019>s no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago<u+2014>i was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. i<u+2019>m very sorry.<u+201d> <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> executive producer rob silverstein recalled the footage of mr. trump<u+2019>s comments after the associated press published an article on oct. 3 about the candidate<u+2019>s lewd behavior on the set of nbc<u+2019>s <u+201c>the apprentice.<u+201d> mr. silverstein is close friends with mr. bush and was sensitive to the damage the story could do, a person close to the situation said. the plan was to interview mr. bush for the story, to get his side, and air it early in the coming week, this person said. nbc news, meanwhile, was planning to wait for <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> to run its piece before it published its own, according to the nbc executives. write to joe flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
nbc plays defense after trump recording surfaces - wsj
joe flint