NBC’s ‘The Voice’ cuts away from DaNica Shirey for Ferguson coverage

This is a difficult subject to broach, mostly because this is the sort of situation that is very hard for a TV network like NBC to know how to handle.

Luckily, we feel like most networks handled it in the best way possible. With all of the news coming out of Ferguson today about the protests and a lack of an indictment, Brian Williams aired a very brief report that many affiliates cut to during the live edition of “The Voice.” We understand that some chose to continue airing the reality show instead, but not all of them.

For those of you worried about how this impacted the performance of DaNica Shirey, the simple answer is that it didn’t. While the news report cut away from her pre-performance package, she took on Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” just as it was planned.

The good news for fans of “The Voice” is that most of them who got the Ferguson coverage all got the rest of the show, as well. Some affiliates decided to pick up on the competition right where they left off, and air the rest of the show on a delay.

Ultimately, this was the best way that NBC could do in order to get the show out there, mostly because of the simple fact that if they did not give an update on the Ferguson situation, then it would look like they cared more about a singing show than breaking news. However, it was great on the part of many who decided not to jeopardize someone like DaNica’s chances.