The TV Zone

Bit by bit, or perhaps word by word, CBS is leaking out Hudson hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger's interview with Katie Couric. Airs Sunday with outtakes tomorrow night on "Evening News," then Sunday on the big "60."

Here's the latest, directly from the network: On Jan. 15, less than two minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, N.C., the Airbus A320 struck a flock of large birds and lost power in both engines. An eerie silence and a disturbing smell followed. It was a moment like no other for the aircraft’s captain. “It was the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling I’ve ever felt in my life,” Sullenberger tells Couric. “I knew immediately it was very bad.”

“Did you think, ‘How are we going to get ourselves out of this?’” Couric asks. Sullenberger replies, “No. My initial reaction was one of disbelief.”

And more...

Sullenberger then took control of the aircraft from First Officer Jeff Skiles and began to make the decisions and maneuvers that resulted in an emergency landing the world is still talking about. The moment the birds entered his screen, the noises they made on impact, the thoughts running through his head, the distance to reach an airport, the river below – he recalls all of them for Couric in an interview that relives one of the major events in aviation history.

Crewmembers Skiles, flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh all relay their experiences in their first group interview. Skiles conveys his perspective while doing his duties in the cockpit and the attendants provide a breathtaking account of what they heard, saw and felt in the aircraft’s cabin with 150 passengers who were told to “brace for impact” as the jetliner angled down toward the Hudson River, relying only on gravity and Sullenberger’s skills to prevent their deaths.

Finally, and memorably, this: Sully tells Couric what he thinks of the people who came to their rescue:

"Thank you seems totally inadequate. I have a debt of gratitude that I fear I may never be able to repay.”

Katie Couric, I'm told, has wrapped (or in the process of wrapping) her big Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger story down in Tampa as we speak (he was there, as you know, and was introduced at the outset of the SB). She's interviewing the crew right now....

Little while ago, "60 Minutes" sent out a release saying that Sully and Katie also wrapped an interview on Friday. But I've just learned that "Evening News" will air a snippet from that tonight, while a more substantial chunk will air on Friday's "Evening News."

He tells KC that he suffered from post-traumatic stress after the historic/heroic landing...

Here's the press release...

"Couric spent hours interviewing the veteran pilot credited with saving the lives of 155 passengers and perhaps many others when he was able to land his commercial jet on the Hudson River after colliding with a flock of Canada geese and losing all power over New York City. Sullenberger describes in detail the landing dubbed "miracle on the Hudson," revealing his thoughts and emotions during the dramatic maneuver and the days following the event, including the posttraumatic stress he suffered in the aftermath.

Couric also interviewed Sullenberger's wife, Lorrie, for a segment that will also include interviews with the entire flight crew of US Airways Fl. 1549 to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES."

Just got off the phone with Sully's San Francisco-based rep (who's been juggling all the media requests), and he's taking some issue with NBC's version of the events.

The events? That Sully and crew are going with "60" and have passed over "Today," after first agreeing to go the ayem show.

His name is Alex Clemens, and he's the boss of something called Barbary Coast Consulting, described as a government and communications strategy firm. He says that he got tied up in this because he knows Sully's wife, Lorraine. And ... he adds, the work is pro bono.

We had a nice long chat, but it's just easiest to give you the written statement, sent to me and other members of The Press (it's long; do you have a couple minutes?):

"On Thursday, January 22, I told my contact at the Today show that the five members of the crew had talked amongst themselves about how they would like to see their story told, and later that day, Captain Sullenberger told me that their collective decision was to start with 60 Minutes, and to then visit each of the morning shows – starting with NBC.

"On a day earlier this week – possibly Sunday or Monday – that same contact at the Today show and I were chatting about a wide range of topics, and he asked me about the volume of requests for endorsements, book deals, and appearance opportunities that Captain Sullenberger had received. I responded with an answer similar to this: “There have been so many requests that the Captain’s family and children yet unborn will probably all attend the college of their choice.”

"For that contact to conflate those two conversations and insinuate that financial incentives were sought in exchange for appearances on one news show or another is repulsive, untrue, and extraordinarily unprofessional."

And...for the record, Clemens says no book deal was cut with S&S; Sully just wanted to go with "60."

Katie's got Sully -- the first major interview, that is.

And "Today" is hopping mad.

CBS announced earlier that "Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger, the hero pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, and his entire crew, will appear on 60 MINUTES in their first interviews since the extraordinary water landing last week on the Hudson River in New York City."

However, "Today's" Matt Lauer last week secured the first interview, only to have the pilots' union -- or so went the "official" excuse -- force him to back out at the last minute while the investigation continued.

NBC just released this statement:

"What Captain Sullenberger did in the cockpit on flight 1549 was heroic and admirable. Unfortunately, people close to him have not acted nearly as admirably over the past few days. They gave us their word, and then broke their commitment. We wish Captain Sullenberger the best."

NBC declined further comment, but my speculation: US Airways decided that they could get more viewers - and better publicity - on "60 Minutes." Yeah, this is amazing, and much will be made of the fact (honestly, an insignificant one) that Katie beat Matt to the punch, etc. I can't remember an instance when a major interview like this was announced by one network, only to have it go to a rival.

And here's my just-wondering question: Did Simon & Schuster, which is a corporate sibling of CBS, also offer Sully or US Airways a book deal? And might there be a TV movie via Paramount, another CBS corporate sibling? (I doubt very much NBC proffered THOSE goodies.)

That IS how this business works.

I'm told by network sources that NBC got "several" assurances from both Sully's wife and a "personal representative" to Sully - presumably the PR man hired after the crash to handle the crush of media requests - that "Today" would be first. Then, "Today" got the bad news this morning.

Meanwhile, I'm also reliably told that Katie's interview with Sully has not yet taken place; you can well imagine that when it does, we'll all see outtakes on the "Evening News" the day it happens. And I wouldn't be surprised if the entire edition of "60" - though probably just two segments - isn't consumed by this interview.

Byron Pitts has just joined the most exclusive club in TV journalism - he was named a contributing correspondent for "60 Minutes." A big deal? Yes, a big deal: "60" has been rather starkly white in recent years, and certainly since Ed Bradley's death in '06, so the show is addressing a pretty amazing iniquity (and particularly amazing considering this IS TV's premiere news magazine, by a large margin.)

Pitts? He's a solid guy - has done very good work on what seems like every story under the sun for CBS, and many of those have appeared on "Evening News" and "60," for which he contributed some memorable pieces on Katrina. He's not a jump-off-the-screen type of personality - he eschews "dramatics," you might say, which is what you probably want in a "60" contributing correspondent. His interview with NO mayor Ray Nagin, elicited this famous line - when pressed about the city clean-up effort, hizzoner said, “That’s alright. You guys in New York City can’t get a hole in the ground fixed and it’s five years later. So let’s be fair." He apologized...

This gig - BTE - can and likely will lead to a full-fledged correspondent role.

And...as expected, "60 Minutes" drew a crowd for last night's interview with prez-elect Obama and First-Lady-in-waiting, Michelle Obama.

Per the network, some 24.49 million tuned in from 7:30 to 8:30; as you know, there was a football overrun that pushed start time back a half hour. How big was this number? For "60" - and really, any TV show these days, huge: This was "60's" biggest performance in nearly ten years, or since Jan. 17, 1999, when 25.77 million tuned in, per CBS.

Did you watch last night's interview on "60 Minutes" with Barack Obama - conducted by Steve Kroft and produced by Michael Radutsky and Frank Devine?

Of course you did, and if you didn't I now offer my two cents - make that four cents. It was a huge TV event, seriously, in so many ways that are so obvious that it almost beggars the reasons for pointing them out, but I do nonetheless. The first black American president - there, on "60 Minutes," the nation's premiere news mag. Get beyond the content of that interview and what news may or may not have been parsed. It was just a stunning event in and of itself; a TV moment where you almost felt the ground move beneath your feet.

Here's my insta-analysis:

* Obama was very good. Of course, you say - he's always that way. . But I felt and maybe you did too that he THOUGHT as he spoke, and that the words he used were not dropped as mere recitations of former campaign promises, but a re-affirmation of those. Whatever you think of the wisdom or lack thereof of some of his stands - say, the closing of Guantanamo, and Kroft's obvious failure of followup (um, where do the prisoners go?) - those positions were stated precisely and intelligently.

* Michelle O was good too. ("Good?" Yes, "60" interviews are to a certain extent performances and as everyone well knows, such interviews can be easily botched.) "The White House was beautiful, awe-inspiring...a great honor to live there." Right answer, when you consider that after Nancy Reagan first walked through, she couldn't plan fast enough to demolish the second floor.

* Delayed gratification on new puppy ("gratification?" Not necessarily the right word when it comes to new puppies.) Yeah, much'll be made semi-seriously of the fact that a new dog isn't coming until maybe in the spring, maybe later. First broken promise!! Oh, puhlease...

* Great night for "60 Minutes," now the only serious news mag left on TV. The Only One. (Really? "20/20" had the bearded lady-man on Friday, will have a famous prostitute this Friday, and next week, closing up sweeps, an exclusive interview with Batboy.) "60" was the most watched program on television week before laset, and will likely do same this week. An "old" warhorse that just keeps on establishing its relevancy.

Grade: A

(Photo: AP)

You know this, I'm sure, but "60 Minutes" - the great warhorse of news magazines - turns 40 in just a couple weeks, on Sept. 28, when the big four-oh season begins. So, I figured it was time to call Andy Rooney to get his take on the current veepee situation (how's THAT for a nonsequitur?) As it turns out, AR's working on his first essay of the season, to air the 21st, about veepees. His thoughts on Sarah Palin? "She seems fine. It was a strange choice, but I think a very good [one.] It looks better and better. She just looks right and everything she said has been good." Plus, "she's good-looking." Andy a Palinista? Not sure he'd go that far: "I don't know how hard a job begin vice president is." And he dismisses the media preoccupation with age and experience - that septuagenarian McCain will not make it, like, past the first day in office. "You're asking someone who's 88. I don't think it's that much of an issue. He's got a long way to go." What's the essay about? "We've had forty-six presidents of the United States, and if I sat down I could name all of [them], but I doubt I could l name eight vice presidents ... I'm pleased to notice that I'm open-minded about the vice president myself," he adds while noting that Palin is only the second female veepee nominee, Joe Biden is genuinely precedent-setting - "We've never had a vice president named Joe."

(Getty Images Photo)

And speaking of ticking clocks (see: "writers strike," as it "uh-oh...") I quite enjoyed last night's "60 Minutes" piece on French boss Nicolas Sarkozy; does this guy hate the press or what? He screams at photographers in New Hampshire, and now blows off Lesley Stahl in the middle of an interview. CBS has just now posted the video of the entire segment, which I happily direct you too (the commercial that leads into the piece lasts only a few seconds, so be patient - unlike Sarko!) By the way, is it just me or is "60 Minutes" hitting on mostly all cylinders these days? A very good broadcast last night, and in case you didn't notice, there was another news-breaking interview with Afghan prez Hamid Karzai as well.
In any event, here's Sarko going nutty on Les.


Warning: Do not ask crazy Frenchman about wife.