Robin Young On Michael Bay's Teleprompter Fail

We began our story today on the Consumer Electronics Show by mentioning film director Michael Bay's onstage meltdown at the show.

He said later in an email that he'd been so excited he'd jumped off his script, and that confused the poor teleprompter operator, who'd jumped ahead.

Who has not been there?

It reminded me of a stint on The Today Show a million years ago, sitting in for Jane Pauley. I was so excited because I'd written a pretty good piece and breezed through it — only to look up and see words fly like little birds, up and off the teleprompter screen, until none were left.

I froze. The kind floor director began whispering, "Watt!"

"What?" I said. "Watt," he said.

"What??"

Unbeknownst to me, then-Secretary of the Interior James Watt was pictured in a little box next to my head, with the words "Up Next: James Watt."

Finally, the floor director said, "This is today on NBC," and I dutifully repeated, "This is Today on NBC."

So we're not making fun of Michael Bay, we're sympathizing. Thank goodness we don't depend on that technology in radio. (Okay... where's my script?)