Top TV newsmen are after the "get" of the year, scrambling to be the first to interview the white police office who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager and lit a racial powder keg in Ferguson, Missouri.
CNN's "Reliable Sources" weekly media watchdog show over the weekend identified the cable network's Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon; NBC's Matt Lauer; CBS's Scott Pelley; and ABC's George Stephanopoulos as the television journalists who have privately approached officer Darren Wilson.
Wilson has not been seen in public since he shot 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9, sparking continuous rioting and protesting in the St. Louis suburb.
Tensions in Ferguson are running even higher as police and protesters wait for the grand jury announcement expected Monday night about whether Wilson will be indicted for the shooting.
After the Sunday broadcast, Cooper and Lemon tweeted that they did meet with Wilson in what they described as a routine step to build trust and confidence with a source before filming an interview.
Cooper, host of "Anderson Cooper 360," also revealed that Wilson turned him down.
Lemon, host of the weekend edition of "CNN Newsroom," added that there was nothing unusual about meeting with Wilson.
Apparently addressing criticism on Twitter, he added that there was "no conspiracy" between CNN and the police to present Wilson in a good light.
Brian Stelter, host of "Reliable Sources," wrote, "Practically every journalist covering the death of Michael Brown would like to interview
Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed Brown.
"In the pursuit of that interview, several high-profile television anchors have secretly met with Wilson, according to sources at several TV networks. All of the meetings were off the record, meaning the anchors could not describe what was said.
"These meetings are a normal part of the TV guest booking process, but they're significant in this case because Wilson has not been seen in public since Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 9."