TV News

Posted: Sun., Feb. 5, 2006, 5:00am PT

News nets send in the clowns

Schieffer punks Peacock

Bob Schieffer

Schieffer

Jaws dropped at NBC News last week when a familiar voice joined the staff's mid-morning conference call.

"Good morning, everyone," said CBS "Evening News" anchor Bob Schieffer in his unmistakable Texas drawl.

Schieffer and NBC News anchor Brian Williams were waiting for the same shuttle from D.C. to New York after the State of the Union Address when Williams passed Schieffer the phone.

"We don't often hear from the enemy on our call," jokes "Nightly News" exec producer John Reiss. "(But) he had great story ideas -- we did them all!"

Schieffer recalls a heyday when anchors at the Big Three punked each other all the time.

Once, when a rumor said NBC was set to replace Tom Brokaw with Alan Alda as host of "Today," Scheiffer faked a letter to NBC congratulating Brokaw on his impending move to "MASH."

Brokaw read the letter on the air, assuring the writer, "I'm not going anywhere."

Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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