Censored: NBC's "A Concert for Hurricane Relief"
LA Times
Robert Hilburn

"As we enter the celebrity telethon phase of the Katrina tragedy, NBC's "A Concert for Hurricane Relief" stands as a blueprint for its own kind of institutional failure.
By censoring Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West's remarks critical of President Bush during its West Coast feed of the program Friday night, the network violated the most moving and essential moment in an otherwise sterile, self-serving corporate broadcast. "It would be most unfortunate," the network said in a statement defending its action, "if the efforts of the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person's opinion."Excuse me, but whose tragedy is this: NBC's or America's?" (09/04/05)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-critic4sep04,0,6609184.story?coll=la-home-headlines