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| << November09, 2005 - McCartney book signings/Beatles News |
November28, 2005 - Daytrippin' Beatles Newsletter >> |
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Dateline will air a two-hour special tonight called "I Shot John Lennon", an in-depth look at John Lennon's killer. The press release states the following: "Marking the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's death, "Dateline" will air a documentary on the music legend's life and legacy that explores the events that led to that fateful day when a generation's voice was silenced. The broadcast features audiotapes of Lennon's killer, Mark Chapman, in 1991-1992. The collection of audiotapes, which are part of a British documentary, licensed by "Dateline," offer a rare look into the mind of a killer, and give people an opportunity to try and comprehend the unexplainable murder of an icon. Along with personal accounts by those first on the scene the night of his murder, the report includes interviews with people close to Lennon, and exclusive interviews with those who knew Chapman who have never spoken before publicly. Hoda Kotb reports in the exclusive two-hour, special edition of "Dateline NBC," to air on Friday, Nov. 18 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET)." Following this statement, the press release distastefully highlighted actual quotes from the killer. In response, Daytrippin' sent Dateline a letter expressing our disgust, saying, "In addition to all the crime and murder already on your network, instead of choosing to celebrate John Lennon's life, a public life devoted to peace (much needed especially in this time of war), you choose to focus on the violent death of one of the most beloved musicians of our time. Maybe if you had talked to any Beatles fans (the people you hope will watch your show) in preparing for this special, you would have learned that it is an unwritten rule that Beatles fans refuse to speak the name of Lennon's killer to avoid giving him any more attention than he deserves. So with your headline claiming that you have a special interview with the killer, you should have known that this would be shocking and appalling to Beatles fans around the world. . . . In your choice to sensationalize John Lennon's murder, you are disgracing your network and diminishing all the positive things John Lennon did in his life." Knowing that May Pang had been interviewed for this show and was excited about it, Daytrippin' correspondent, Shelley Germeaux, contacted May yesterday by phone to get her reaction. She was absolutely livid. May Pang said: "I had no idea. I heard about this this morning and was quite upset because I was never informed of the premise of the show." Shelley asked if May had asked the producers about the theme of the program prior to agreeing to the interview. "Yes, in fact they assured me this was to be a 'celebration' of John's life. I even asked them again to be sure, that this was a positive look at John's life. They assured me it was, repeating that it was a celebration of his life. They also made a point to tell me that Yoko was not involved with it, just friends of John's, so we all (the people interviewed) felt it was ok." She also mentioned that none of the people that were interviewed were told. "Jack Douglas is in it, do you think he would agree to that? And Paul Shaffer? No way. If I had known they were going to talk about (the murder) I would never have agreed." Shelley asked May what type of interview questions the producers asked, to see if there was a clue there. She said "The usual. Nothing out of the ordinary that would have tipped me off. You know...how did you meet him, what was it like, the same old stuff. So no, there was no clue." If you'd like your voice to be heard, please write to Dateline to express your opinions about the special at Dateline@NBC.com ------ This message brought to you by Daytrippin' P.O. Box 114 Edgewater, NJ 07020 http://www.daytrippin.com |
| << November09, 2005 - McCartney book signings/Beatles News |
November28, 2005 - Daytrippin' Beatles Newsletter >> |
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