Katie and Sully: A victory for closed-source media

Katie Couric’s interview with hero pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger will air on 60 Minutes tonight, and like many people, I’m pretty excited to see what the captain has to say. However, I’m also disappointed with the way Couric and CBS handled their exclusive with Sully. I have nothing against news organizations getting exclusive stories. That’s how the business works. However, I do have a bit of a problem with the way CBS has successfully blocked even the tiniest bit of media attention to Sullenberger from occuring before the show airs. CBS’s control reached its apotheosis last night, when the network basically forbade anyone from getting near enough to speak to or snap a pic of the pilot—other than AP, which had struck an agreement with CBS —when he went to the hit “South Pacific” at Lincoln Center. I had hoped that some daring audience or cast member would have grabbed something with a cameraphone, but no such luck. (Where’s the guy who snuck the pic of Michael Phelps when you need him?) So, congrats on the exclusive, CBS. But as far as I’m concerned, your heavy-handed approach to the Sully interview is a big fail.