OK! Why was the celebrity baby pics segment axed today on American Morning? The story was titled “Ethics for Sale” and later “Photo Bidding War” and was scheduled at 8:43 A ET. After Kiran Chetry teased it at 7:44 A ET, I e-mailed her at 7:52 A ET asking if she and her husband Chris Knowles had been paid by OK! Magazine for their baby’s pictures. AM did one more tease at 8:05 A ET and then no more. It never aired.
Strangely, a rerun of an earlier story on the banning of trans fat by California lawmakers was played instead at the appointed time of 8:43 A ET. Later (after another rerun concerning Miss USA falling on her derriere), Kiran explained, “Because of some breaking news on the economic front, we ran out of time and weren’t able to bring you the story about some celebrity baby photos going for as much as fifteen million, Angelina Jolie’s new twins one of them: so is that ethical and what are the implications of that?” She added, “Even if it’s going to charity, is it the right thing to do?” Then John assured the audience that the story would be aired the next hour on CNN Newsroom which was “coming up in a few minutes’ time”: it didn’t.
Did the producers kill the story because of a perceived conflict of interest? Ironically, from the author’s perspective, making money off baby pics, especially if given to charity, is not ethically adverse. However, the story’s evaporation seemed somewhat suspect. AM, trust your audience: we’re fair.