NBC News Fires Back at ABC News for ‘Exclusive’ Flub on O.J. Simpson Tapes
“20/20” report under attack since rival network first aired the audiotapes back in 1999
Jordan Chariton | September 25, 2015 @ 11:12 AM
Last Updated: September 25, 2015 @ 11:14 AM
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ABC News apologized on Friday for wrongly advertising tapes from a 1999 O.J. Simpson deposition as exclusive.
“We were wrongly under the impression these deposition tapes were exclusive and had not aired before at length,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement.
ABC has been heavily promoting an Oct. 9 “20/20” report with the “missing tapes” as an exclusive. The only problem — the tapes were first aired on NBC’s “Dateline” in 1999, followed by repeat airings in 2004 and 2014.
‘Rarely Seen’ on ABC. Twice on Dateline. RT@ABC2020: The O.J. Simpson Tapes: 7 Shocking Things He Said in Rarely Seen Deposition Tapes – Josh Mankiewicz (@JoshMankiewicz) September 25, 2015
The error has been perpetuated on-air as “20/20” anchor Elizabeth Vargas talked about the tapes on “Good Morning America” on Friday.
“It’s hard to believe that all this sat for 20 years,” she said to George Stephanopoulos, who referred to the materials as “never seen before.”
20 Big Changes in Hollywood Since O.J. Simpson's Crazy Chase 20 Years Ago
The infamous Ford Bronco can now be rented out for parties.
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Social media is now the universal forum to sound off about everything from political revolution to reality television.
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In 1994 average Internet speed was 56kbps. Now, it's around 25.5mbs.
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O.J. Simpson is in currently in jail... on unrelated charges.
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O.J. Simpson published the book, "If I Did It: Confessions of The Killer." Proceeds from its sale go to the Goldman family.
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In 1994 only 6% of people owned cellphones. Currently, 91% of people own cellphones.
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The 405 has been completely revamped. Traffic remains.
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The two helicopter pilots who followed the slow-speed chase are now transgender females. Dirk Vahle, left, now goes by Dana. Bob Tur, right, goes by Zoey.
Zoey Tur
Newspapers were a thing. People read them. Not so much any more.
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The "Law and Order" franchise has launched four new shows, five video games, a TV film and countless other courtroom dramas.
The Internet has outpaced television in how Americans get their news.
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Coverage of "The Trial of the Century" aired live on CourtTV. It has since become TruTV.
"The Lion King" was released in 1994. It became a Broadway musical in 1997 and is still running today.
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"Friends" premiered in 1994. The cast's group negotiations, which netted each actor $1 million per episode, paved the way for subsequent casts to adopt this tactic. It's been off the air for 10 years.
During the chase, Amazon, Hulu and Netflix did not exist.
Pixar released "Toy Story" in 1995 and Hollywood's computer-animated movie evolution began
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Criminals have become celebrities and celebrities' criminal behavior has... wait, nevermind
Trials can now be watched via online streaming.
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Oscar Winner Jennifer Lawrence was not yet dominating Hollywood. She was only three years old.
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But what hasn’t changed two decades later: We still can’t resist a good car chase
The infamous Ford Bronco can now be rented out for parties.