Just one day after premiering a new station promo, New York’s WNBC has edited the spot to eliminate the portions featuring New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly.
The New York Daily News reports rival stations were “shocked when they first saw the spot,” which premiered during the Super Bowl on WNBC. It features a scene of Kelly walking alongside correspondent Jonathan Dienst (pictured).
A spokesperson for the NYPD, Paul Browne, told the Daily News that the police department requested the edits after receiving a complaint from WCBS, the CBS O&O. The complaint from WCBS reportedly called Kelly’s appearance in the ad “outrageous” and said it suggested favoritism.
“Our investigative team is among the most experienced in the industry, and to suggest that the station won’t cover the NYPD fairly, accurately and with balance simply because the commissioner appeared in a station promotional spot is simply not true,” WNBC president Michael Jack said in a statement. “However, to avoid any appearance of bias, we updated the spot to focus it singularly on the four reporters that comprise our investigative team.”
Watch the original ad here: