NBC Stands By Decision to Air Kardashian Interview, Snub 9/11 Ceremony

The "Today Show," already facing a serious erosion of its numbers, is taking heavy fire for its decision to not air the 9/11 ceremonies from Washington, D.C. or New York City -- and even more flak for standing by its decision.

NBC is already having to deal with ABC's "Good Morning America" beating the "Today Show" for the first time in 17 years, now has to face what industry experts are calling possible long-term fallout. The "Today Show" chose to air an interview with one of the train wrecks from the reality show "The Kardashians" instead of coverage of the 9/11 moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. ET.

While some TV experts are saying it will cause significant viewer loss and fallout in the very least, others are saying this slight will produce long-term negative effects for the show and the entire network. Hollywood Reporter Senior Editor Alex Ben Brock said this to Fox News:

"It will leave a lot of people with a bad taste and that could over time translate into a loss of viewers,” he remarked. "It is clear NBC needs to do things that make them stand out, but this stunk up their image instead, at a time they need to be in image repair mode.”

The "Today Show" was already reeling from the July loss of its No. 1 status to "Good Morning America," and popular co-host Ann Currie was obviously missed by viewers. The long-time fixture of the show was booted from the lineup and replaced by lawyer-turned-reporter Savannah Guthrie earlier this summer.

The network also caught heat for airing an ad of its upcoming fall show "Animal Practice" immediately after gymnast Abby Douglas won her all-around gold medal. The annoying ad featured a black-furred monkey performing a gymnastics routine!

If NBC had a record of providing quality news-entertainment programming, and a lack of gaffes or insensitive mistakes, perhaps the 9/11 blunder could be quickly forgotten.

But execs had this to say about their decision:

"The Today Show" dedicated a considerable amount of time to September 11th coverage this morning throughout the entire show."

I guess in their eyes that makes up for reality show babble and breast augmentation talk instead of honoring the thousands who died on 9/11.