Oops! Convention producer caught out

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CNN gave its viewers an unscripted and unexpected moment in the final minutes of the Democratic convention on Thursday when it aired a producer's profanity-laced rant as he demanded that crews speed up the release of balloons and confetti.


Don Mischer, a veteran of Olympic broadcasts and televised awards shows making his debut as convention executive producer for the Democrats, was heard yelling over his headset as the balloon drop at the end John Kerry's acceptance speech on Thursday night got off to a slow start.


"Come on guys, let's move it. Jesus. We need more balloons. I want all balloons to go. Goddammit. Go confetti. Go confetti," Mischer shouted. "There's not enough coming down. All balloons. Why the hell is nothing falling? What the (expletive) are you guys doing up there?"


At that point, CNN's Wolf Blitzer broke in to explain the gaffe, the apparent result a communications mix-up, to the estimated 4 million viewers watching CNN.


"What you heard was the voice of Don Mischer," Blitzer said. "He's the organiser of this convention. He's been giving instructions to let the balloons come down."


Co-anchor Judy Woodruff then chimed in that "it was an accident to leave the microphone open."


Before signing off from the telecast, Blitzer apologised to viewers who "may have been offended by that bad word."


"We just want to make sure that our viewers understand that it wasn't us," he said. "Somebody else was saying it. These things happen when the balloons don't come down as rapidly as a director would like them to be coming down."


Network spokeswoman Edna Johnson said Mischer apparently was unaware, or forgot in the heat of the moment, that CNN had arranged to carry a live feed of his voice from the control room during the balloon drop.


"We had permission to air the live audio of the convention producer directing the balloon drop to give the viewers a behind-the-scenes feel of the convention," she said.


But Mischer, himself, told Reuters, he had no idea that anyone planned to use his voice on the air, or that the headset channel he used to communicate with the pool of commercial network producers had been left open.


"Obviously, had I known that my voice was being broadcast around the world, I would have chosen some other option to deal with my frustration," a contrite Mischer said in a telephone interview. "I just feel terrible about it."


He also lamented that the snafu occurred after four days in which the convention played out with hardly a hitch.


If anything, television news executives and journalists covering the event have complained that conventions had become carefully orchestrated "infomercials" for political parties.


In an unrelated example of convention-related vulgarity during a live TV broadcast, comedian Dennis Miller joked on NBC's "Today" show on Thursday that conventions were a way of rewarding local party activists -- "Listen, we'll get you into a big city and maybe you'll get laid."


Co-host Matt Lauer, caught off-guard by Miller's comment, chided him: "Don't always sneak it in on the last word on me, all right?"


An NBC spokeswoman said Miller's remark was merely a reflection of his irreverent humour.