EMMY CRASH: NBC's Regrets

A day after NBC and Hollywood revealed their utter clueness by airing a spoof that included a plane crash, just hours after Comair Flight 5191 went down, killing 49 people, NBC is having second thoughts.

From the Associated Press:

Our hearts and prayers go out to the many families who lost loved ones in the plane crash in Kentucky on Sunday, and to the entire community that has suffered this terrible loss," NBC said in a statement the day after the ceremony.

"In no way would we ever want to make light of this terrible tragedy," NBC said. "The filmed opening during the Emmy telecast was meant to spoof some of television's most well-known scenes. The timing was unfortunate, and we regret any unintentional pain it may have caused."

There is no question that NBC needed to apologize for its horrible insensitivity.

BUT--

Parts of the apology bug me.

"In no way would we ever want to make light of this terrible tragedy."

Then why DID they make light of the tragedy by airing the crash spoof?

It was long enough to be "cringe-inducing," as The LA Times puts it.

And what "timing was unfortunate"? The timing of the crash of Flight 5191?

"Unintentional pain" -- What a load! Is "unintentional pain" any less painful?

The fact is NBC DID cause real pain.

It was pain that could easily have been avoided if someone involved in the Emmy broadcast would have had the good sense to realize that it's not cool to graphically depict the interior of a plane as it crashes on the same day that 49 people lost their lives when Flight 5191 went down.

I wish NBC's apology put less emphasis on the "We didn't mean to offend" stuff and instead just admitted, "We screwed up royally and we are sincerely sorry."