Ha ha, kidding. But CNN is very, very sorry that they were too incompetent to prevent anchor Kyra Phillips from having her mic on during a Leslie Nielsen in "The Naked Gun"-like 90-second bathroom break. The Hollywood Reporter's Paul J. Gough gives us a refresher course on CNN's other snafus, too.
CNN apologized Tuesday after an open mike transmitted an anchor's bathroom conversation with another woman live over the network as it was carrying President Bush's speech in New Orleans.
"Live From" anchor Kyra Phillips had apparently left the set around 12:48 p.m. EDT Tuesday for a bathroom break while the news channel carried Bush's speech marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Phillips' wireless microphone was turned on and picked up about a minute and a half of a muffled conversation she had with an unidentified woman where she apparently talked about her husband, laughed and talked about her brother.
...some in the TV business said Tuesday that CNN should have had a system of checks and balances in place to make sure anchor's mikes are off when they're not on the air.
"It's a cardinal rule," one executive said.
