Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick said that LB Manti Te'o "sometime today" is expected to "add his voice" to the story, broken by Deadspin.com, that his widely reported dead girlfriend Lennay Kekua never actually existed. Swarbrick at a press conference called by the school yesterday said that Te'o was "the victim of that hoax." Swarbrick: "The single-most trusting human being I've ever met will never be able to trust in the same way again in his life. That's an incredible tragedy" (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 1/17).
Today’s network morning shows all covered the Te'o story in depth:
- It was the second story on ABC’s “GMA,” with a six-minute report featuring ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski in a taped segment. The second hour of “GMA” featured a report on “Catfishing,” where someone uses social media to create a false identity.
- “CBS This Morning” aired a five-minute-plus report on Te’o during its first half hour, with Deadspin writer Jack Dickey appearing in a taped segment.
- NBC’s “Today” aired nearly an eight-minute report during its 7:30am ET slot, with NBC’s John Yang live from the Notre Dame campus.
- A taped segment included an appearance by Deadspin Managing Editor Tom Scocca. Deadspin reporter Timothy Burke appeared live via satellite on “GMA” (with Josh Elliott) and “Today” (with Matt Lauer).
- On last night’s news shows, ABC’s “World News” aired a report approximately ten minutes into the broadcast, while CBS’ “Evening News” and NBC’s “Nightly News” did not report on Te'o (THE DAILY).
