Boston Marathon explosions: TV networks switch to live coverage
UPDATE: President Obama made a statement from the White House press room regarding the Boston Marathon explosions on Monday.
“The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight,” Obama said. “We don’t yet have all the answers, but we do know multiple people have been wounded, some gravely, in explosions at the Boston Marathon … We still do not know who did this, or why. People shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this. We will find out who did this and we will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice … we will hold them accountable.”
Obama notably avoided describing the bombings (video below) as a terrorist attack.
Some broadcast news telecasts outside of prime-time have been extended. Also, NBC will preempt Revolution for an NBC News special report with Brian Williams at 10 p.m. ET
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All four major broadcast networks interrupted their daytime programming Monday to provide live coverage of the explosions in Boston.
Two explosions were reported near the annual marathon’s finish line by the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, causing severe injuries.
The Big 4 networks CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox joined cable networks CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC to report on the tragic news. Syndicated shows such as ABC’s Katie, Fox’s Judge Joe Brown and CBS’ Let’s Make a Deal were interrupted.
“You knew immediately something was wrong,” said WHDH reporter Janet Wu, on the scene for NBC. “I’ve heard gun shots, I’ve heard backfiring, I’ve heard massive car crashes and this definitely wasn’t that. White smoke and then chaos.” Here’s one channel’s live stream.
