NBC Promotes Snowden Interview: Is He a ‘Traitor’ or a ‘Patriot’?

NBC Promotes Snowden Interview: Is He A 'Traitor' or 'Patriot'? (NewsBusters)

After news broke on Thursday that NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams landed an exclusive interview with NSA leaker Edward Snowden, the network began running promos wondering whether Snowden was a "traitor" or a "patriot." First a clip played of Williams observing: "A lot of people would say you have badly damaged your country." A second clip of the exchange feature Williams asking Snowden: "Have you performed, as you see it, a public service?"

At the top of Thursday's Nightly News, Williams informed viewers that he had just returned from Moscow after sitting down with "the most wanted man in the world," touting how "the interview was months in the making and cloaked in the secrecy of his life as a fugitive living in exile overseas." Williams teased an upcoming May 28 special: "We are going to air Snowden's comments next week....you'll be able to see and hear him tell his story, including a lot we have not heard before. And as you will see and hear, Edward Snowden has a lot more to say."