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Corporate synergy watch: Today's coverage of the Universal fire
by Joel Keller, posted Jun 2nd 2008 11:02AM
This morning, as I watched the Today show, I noticed that they had "team coverage" of the big fire on the Universal Studios back lot. Not only did they have reporter Peter Alexander doing a live remote from the scene, but they decided to send Al Roker, who was in L.A. to tape Celebrity Family Feud, over there, as well. Matt Lauer called the fire "devastating," and Alexander went on to list all the sets that went up in smoke, including the town square from Back to the Future. Oh, and some of the video archives were destroyed, even though there are backups.All of this was delivered in somber tones, as if this was like those wildfires that have enveloped that part of the country over the last few years. It made you wonder if anyone got hurt. Thankfully, no one did. So why the somber tone? Sure, these sets might have some sentimental value, but they're just fake storefronts. And why have a reporter there if Roker was already available? It makes you scratch your head until you realize that NBC and Universal are corporate siblings.
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