NBC Chicago had some issues trying to take network Weinstein special report

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Something odd happened when WMAQ, the NBC owned station in Chicago, tried to switch over to the network’s special report on the Harvey Weinstein verdict.

The report came about 15 minutes before 11 a.m. central time and after the normal NBC News Special Report slate and title card aired the station’s signal cut over to what appeared to a shot of actor Jussie Smollett entering the Cook County courts building while an apparent open mic caught someone saying “Weinstein…” in a sort of whiney tone.

It wasn’t immediately clear where that audio was coming from or who was saying it, though morning anchor Alex Maragos did co-anchor the 11 a.m. newscast about 15 minutes later and may have been on set at the time.

The station’s theme music could also be heard before the feed went silent as the Smollett video continued to play.

The Smollett video was part of WMAQ’s coverage of the former “Empire” actor pleading not guilty to new charges stemming from an allegedly fabricated homophobic and racist attack.

Kate Snow, anchoring the special report from New York, could then be heard before she appeared on screen — but not before the station lost the network audio again very briefly.

The video accidentally shown during the start of the special report aired later near the top of the station’s 11 a.m. newscast.