Helene Godin
Broadcast Counsel
Law Department
NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

September 25, 1996

VIA FAX and
MESSENGER
Mr. Jed Rosenzweig
155 Bank Street
New York, New York 10014

Re: NBC News/"Wild Feed TV"

Dear Mr. Rosenzweig:

It has come to our attention that "Wild Feed TV" plans to present "a full half hour feed" of the NBC News team at Republican Convention last month in San Diego. While we respect your right to "expos[e] the illusions of television," we must advise you that your methods may expose you to both criminal and civil liability.

Under section 705 of the Communications Act, it is a federal offense to intercept and retransmit a satellite signal without the authority of the sender. Any person who willfully violates this provision is subject criminal penalties of a fine of up to $50,000, not more than two years imprisonment, or both. The statute also provides for civil liability of up to $10,OOO for each violation.

In addition, rebroadcast of NBC News material without authorization constitutes a violation of NBC's copyright in it's news programming, which could subject you to up to $100,000 in statutory damages and payment of NBC's attorney's fees. We recognize, and indeed welcome, the "fair use" exemption under the Copyright Act. Based on the description of the September 29 "Wild Feed TV" program in your press release, however, the contemplated use of NBC's material appears to be outside the scope of that exception.

Accordingly, we demand that you immediately abandon whatever plans you may have to use material from any NBC satellite feed. We further demand that you notify us in writing no later than noon on Friday, September 27, that you have complied, to avoid formal legal action.

Very truly yours,
Helene Godin

cc: William Wheatley

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To: Helene Godin
From: Jed Rosenzweig

September 27, 1996

Dear Ms Godin:

As requested in your letter of September 25, 1996, I am responding to you via fax this morning.

The scheduled episode of "Wild Feed TV" presenting a half hour feed of Tom Brokaw at the Republican Convention will not be cablecast this Sunday.

Please note that I am currently seeking legal counsel, and that pulling this tape today is by no means meant to imply that I have accepted your argument.

Sincerely,
Jed Rosenzweig

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Howard , Darby & Levin
1330 Avenue of the Americas
New York, N.Y. 10019

VIA TELECOPIER AND BY HAND

Mr. Jed Rosenzweig
155 Bank Street
New York, New York 10014

Re: NBC News/"Wild Feed TV"

Dear Mr. Rosenzweig:

NBC has retained this firm for advice in connection with your previously announced intention to disseminate proprietary broadcast material that you misappropriated from NBC News satellite transmissions. We are in receipt of your letter of this date responding to NBC's letter of September 25, 1996, which advised you that your intended use of NBC's broadcast news property would violate the federal Communications Act and could subject you to criminal penalties and civil fines.

Your letter states, "The scheduled feed of 'Wild Feed TV' presenting a half hour feed of Tom Brokaw at the Republican Convention will not be cablecast this Sunday." We interpret the reference in your letter to Mr. Brokaw and the convention as an assurance from you that you will not be transmitting any NBC material this Sunday. If the import of your letter was not intended to be this broad, i.e., if you still intend to disseminate material you intercepted from an NBC satellite transmission, please notify me immediately by telephone.

Because your letter goes on to state that you are seeking counsel and do not accept our statement of the legal consequences that can flow from your actions, I write on behalf of NBC to demand again that you abandon your plans further to misuse NBC material and that you notify NBC in writing that you agree to do so.

So that there can be no miscalculation or misunderstanding on your part and so that any counsel you retain is better able to advise you, this letter elaborates on the legal position set forth in NBC's September 25 letter. These letters put you on clear notice that the acts you have acknowledged committing violated the law and that commission of the acts that you previously announced an intention to commit will expose you to additional criminal penalties. Furthermore, should you choose to proceed with your plans to retransmit NBC's news product or any other NBC material, even after receipt of our letters, you will be demonstrating beyond question that your acts are intentional and knowing violations of law.

The September 25 letter put you on notice of your violation of Section 705 of the Communications Act, Title 47, United States Code, Section 605. In addition, NBC believes it clear that by intercepting NBC News Satellite transmissions you also have violated Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2511, and that your retransmission of that material will constitute an independent criminal violation of that same statuate. Each such violation of Title III is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250, 000.

In addition, by scheming to steal and misappropriate the broadcast news property of NBC News, you have also violated the federal wire fraud statuate and the federal statute prohibiting the interstate transportation of stolen property. The wire fraud statuate, Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, carries a possible penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each offense. Any retransmission of NBC's news product would constitute an independent offense punishable by the same penalties. The interstate transportation statute, Title 18, United States Code, Section 1314, also prohibits both the interstate transportation of NBC's stolen news material and any retransmission of the same. Each such violation is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

NBC will not hesitate to use any and all proper means to protect its lawful rights. We reiterate the demand in the September 25 letter that you abandon any plan to use or disseminate any material you have obtained from NBC satellite feeds and that you notify NBC in writing that you agree to do so. We also demand that you return all copies of such material to NBC forthwith, and that you telephone me immedietely if, contrary to our interpretation of your letter, you still intend to transmit any NBC News material this weekend.

Very truly yours,
Aaron R. Marcu

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225 Broadway, 38th Floor
New York, NY 10007-3001

October 11, 1996

William Wheatley
Vice President
NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Dear Mr Wheatley:

I am the young video producer who taped an exchange between Tom Brokaw and a colleague off my home satellite dish this past August. Several weeks ago, I received a letter from an NBC lawyer, a copy of which was also sent to you. This letter threatened me with lawsuits and jail time if I show the feed -- as I had planned -- on my weekly public access program, "WILD FEED TV." The program, as your lawyers are aware, is intended to expose some of the illusions of television through the weekly cablecast of raw satellite feeds.

You are a respected NBC News producer, a Nieman fellow at Harvard -- a program that deals with the ethics of journalism. Now a Vice President of news at NBC, you were hired to make sure your news division doesn't blow up any more GM trucks and call it news. Perhaps you, Mr. Wheatley, would be willing to engage in a dialogue about the ethics your company has demonstrated in trying to silence a public access producer exercising his rights of freedom of speech and expression.

What do you think prompted this? Could it be that in this age of corporate mega-mergers NBC feels the need to throw it's weight around? Your company was roundly condemned this summer for attempting to bar other media outlets from the Centennial Olympics -- and then ignoring the rest of the world in it's coverage. But an 8 billion dollar company threatening to sue a 25 year old video producer whose annual income is less than Robert Wright's breakfast budget?

I can understand NBC's desire to protect Tom Brokaw. But really, what harm is there in having him seen as a human being rather than as a robot performing before robotic cameras? Furthermore, Mr Brokaw is the anchor of the the top rated nightly news program in the country -- when he says something, he has credibility. If you had a tape revealing one of the most credible people in the United States candidly commenting before an open mic about falsely reported information that potentially altered history, what would you do? If you were producing a show that aimed to expose the illusions of TV, wouldn't you use the tape?

I know NBC is no stranger to controversy. Wouldn't your news division have more credibility if you showed the tape yourselves? I propose you and I produce a new series for NBC -- or at the very least, a special -- that explores this and other issues that come into play when news becomes property and corporate interests overtake journalism.

In the words of the late John Chancellor -- the conscience of NBC -- "God did not create news divisions to make profits." If this program is ever seen, I will dedicate it to Mr. Chancellor and the values he stood for.

I hope to hear from you soon. You know where I am. Your lawyers found me in 22 minutes -- the amount of time it usually takes to show us the world.

Respectfully,
Jed Rosenzweig

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