‘TODAY’ SHOW’S KITTY KELLEY QUANDARY

NEW YORK — NBC’s “Today” show beat out ABC’s “Good Morning America” for first TV interview rights to Kitty Kelley’s controversial new biography of President Bush, but the big “get” may turn out to be more trouble than it’s worth.

With the close-fought presidential election in full force and Kelley’s past work regularly the subject of skeptical questioning, many TV media outlets decided to stay clear of an author interview. Not so NBC. Starting Monday, top-rated “Today” will devote three mornings to “The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty,” which is being published next week by Doubleday Broadway. According to news reports, among its pages are allegations of drug use by the president when he was younger.

Like CBS News’ “60 Minutes” -- which this week came under attack from conservative critics who questioned the authenticity of documents it revealed that raise questions about Bush’s Texas National Guard service in the 1970s -- NBC already has come in for some well-coordinated criticism.

The White House this week took the unusual step of calling NBC News President Neal Shapiro, according to an NBC executive who wouldn’t comment on what was said. A White House spokesman declined to comment on the call but said the book “appears to be the same trash that was discredited, disavowed or dismissed years ago.”

In addition, the Republican National Committee circulated a memo to talk-radio hosts under the headline, “New Kelley Book, Same Old Kelley Slime.” It listed criticisms of Kelley, as reported by other news organizations from the Los Angeles Times to CBS News and People magazine as far back as 1978, and noted: “From what we know of [the new book] so far, there’s nothing to indicate any factual basis for her unsubstantiated claims.”

“Today’s” interviews with Kelley will be conducted by co-anchor Matt Lauer. He also just interviewed the president, in a taped session that stretched out over an equal three days during the recent Republican National Convention. NBC declined to comment on why Lauer was chosen to do the interview over co-anchor Katie Couric.

In addition, “Hardball With Chris Matthews,” which airs on NBC’s MSNBC cable network, and the syndicated entertainment newsmagazine “Extra,” which airs on a number of NBC-owned stations, will conduct interviews with Kelley on Tuesday.

NBC News spokeswoman Allison Gollust declined to comment on why the network decided to do the interview, except to note that “this is a very competitive interview that all the morning shows and networks were after.” NBC, she added, will thoroughly review all the material in advance and “ask all the appropriate questions.”

The White House has one advantage if it wants to avail itself: All three days of interviews will be live, not pre-taped, as is often the case. Depending on what Kelley says the first day, the White House will be offered a chance to respond Tuesday and Wednesday, NBC said.

While ABC made an aggressive push for Kelley, “The Family” didn’t generate the kind of media scrum that usually results when a high-profile book is about to be published. CBS’ third-place morning show said it passed on Kelley; Doubleday spokeswoman Suzanne Herz said the show was never offered a chance at the first interview and that discussions with CBS’ top-rated newsmagazine, “60 Minutes,” ended in a “mutual pass.”

CNN’s “Larry King Live” essentially passed on the book as well, offering up a little-viewed Saturday time slot for an interview. While interviewer King, CNN’s highest-rated show, has frequently booked Kelley to talk about her past work on Princess Diana, King is also close to the Bush family. A CNN spokesman said the network doesn’t comment on guest bookings.

Three other CNN programs have scheduled interviews with Kelley, starting Tuesday: “LateNight with Aaron Brown,” “American Morning” and “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” CNN Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman said he had not heard from the White House regarding the scheduled interviews.

ABC’s second-place “Good Morning America,” which has made some ratings gains on “Today” in recent months, made an all-out pitch for the Kelley interviews, which it promised would also be promoted on the syndicated “Entertainment Tonight,” with which ABC has an arrangement.

In a letter to Doubleday, Patty Neger, coordinating producer for “Good Morning America,” wrote that the show was prepared to “work in tandem with other ABC News programs to offer a network package that will give maximum exposure to this eagerly awaited book.”