Just a week after CNN paired Pink’s “Stupid Girls” with a segment on Sarah Palin, the network said Monday it regrets playing Billy Joel’s “Only The Good Die Young” after coming back from commercial break and following a discussion on the Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting.
“We aired a song from our guest’s playlist on the morning show, which aired following a three-minute commercial break and before a segment on presidential politics, unrelated to the Wisconsin shooting,” CNN said in a statement to TPM. “Given the news of the day, this was regrettable and we apologize to our viewers.”
Guests’ playlists are often featured on the morning program. The song came from New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf’s playlist. “That’s why you were singing along with me this morning,” Early Start host Zoraida Sambolin said to Sheinkopf. “That’s the only reason I came here, was to sing that song,” he said. “Why else would I be here in the morning?”
The panel’s conversation then turned to presidential politics.
A gunman in Wisconsin on Sunday killed six people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., before being shot to death by a police officer. After conflicting reports on the suspect’s background — the alleged gunman was identified by police as 40-year-old Wade Michael Page — the FBI said it is looking into his potential ties to white supremacist groups.
Watch an edited clip of the CNN segment below, via Newsbusters:
David Taintor
David Taintor is TPM’s News Editor. He contributes to TPM’s Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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