NBC Freelance Writer Dismissed After "Ran Into The Fire"

(From Sports Business Daily)

A freelance writer "will no longer receive assignments from NBC UNIVERSAL SPORTS after copying two passages from a 2002 episode of THE WEST WING in his script for a feature" on last Saturday's KENTUCKY DERBY broadcast, according to RICHARD SANDOMIR of THE NEW YORK TIMES.

NBC UNIVERSAL SPORTS President KEN SCHANZER would not identify the writer but said, "He won't work here anymore."

The feature, narrated by NBC's TOM HAMMOND, profiled BARBARO trainer MICHAEL MATZ, who saved three children after surviving a plane crash; BROTHER DEREK jockey
ALEX SOLIS, who broke his back two years ago; and
BROTHER DEREK trainer DAN HENDRICKS, who was paralyzed in a motocross accident.

The script stated Matz "ran into the fire to save the lives of three children." Hammond paused dramatically and added,
"Ran into the fire."

In the THE WEST WING episode, MARTIN SHEEN's character, PRESIDENT JOSIAH BARTLET, gave a speech in which he praised the rescuers, "who ran into the fire to help get people out" of a burning building. Bartlet paused and added dramatically, "Ran into the fire."

The Derby script said the "funny thing about life is that every time we think we've measured our capacity to meet its challenges, we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless."

In his speech on THE WEST WING, Bartlet said, "Every time we think we've measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless."

The similarities were "discovered by a reader" who emailed The New York Times.

Jeremy Anderson, thanks for the post.