NBC News-Arthur Kent Dispute Heats Up

The battle between foreign correspondent Arthur Kent and NBC News escalated Monday, with Kent donning a safari jacket and handing out leaflets in front of network headquarters in New York and NBC firing back with a press release calling the correspondent’s behavior “bizarre and unfortunate.”

Kent was suspended in the midst of a contract dispute with the network for refusing an assignment to Zagreb, Croatia, to cover U.N. teams inspecting internment camps in nearby Serbia.

The network had little comment on Friday, when Kent called its management team “incompetent and unworthy” and blamed NBC for smearing his name and setting him up for the suspension.

But Monday, after Kent’s appearance at NBC’s headquarters, the network shot back.

“For the past 18 months, NBC News’ management has worked aggressively and enthusiastically to try to create an environment which would work for Arthur, to maximize his talents and meet his wishes,” the network said in its release. “But he has continued to be unhappy and has been unable to deal with any level of management. . . .”

The network said that Kent could not work with management at any of the three jobs he has held at the network, whether at “NBC Nightly News,” “Dateline NBC” or the NBC news desk.

Kent’s attorney, Bruce Lilliston of Santa Monica, confirmed that Kent had handed out leaflets at NBC and said the correspondent stuck to his contentions about the network.

“He is a very strong-willed individual, with a very profound sense of professional integrity,” Lilliston said. “And it does not bother him to take on an establishment organization or powerful presence if he feels that they are wrong.”