MSNBC reporter Andrea Mitchell was forced to interrupt a former Congresswoman, in the midst of explaining a report about the National Security Agency's mass surveillance program, to bring viewers "Breaking News" about teen pop icon Justin Bieber.
Mitchell was in the middle of interviewing Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who was speaking from the 2014 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, when Bieber was being arraigned in Miami over charges that he operated a vehicle while intoxicated.
Filmed footage of the interruption surfaced on The Guardian's website Friday morning. "The news stops for no one and broadcasters have to be sure they are keeping their audiences up to date with the key issues of the day," the paper's Media Monkey blog opined. "With that in mind, hacks around the world should take their hats off to MSNBC."
Watch:
Video published on MSNBC.com does not show the Bieber interruption, and instead picks up with Mitchell and Harman resuming their conversation about the NSA.
The agency's mass surveillance program was deemed "illegal" this week by a federal oversight panel, which recommended it be scrapped for violating Americans' civil liberties and failing to provide useful intelligence about terrorist threats.
Photo: Brad Camembert / Shutterstock.com.