AccessHollywood.com's report last wek that Katie Couric wouldn't go to the Middle East to report wasn't a NBC Universal swipe at their ex-Today show anchor — it was just a regular, run-of-the-mill error.

On Wednesday, Access Hollywood's website posted an item quoting Katie Couric from May 30, when she was still co-anchor of the Today show, reacting to injured CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier; Couric said she would not go to Iraq, being a single mother of two children who already lost a father, and all. That quote, it turns out, was taken out of context in the AH item: At the Television Critics Association's annual event on July 16, fully representing her new post at CBS, Couric said she would go to the Middle East, especially in light of the current Lebanon situation.

It wasn't until the Drudge Report blared the AH item did anyone really notice the contradiction – and some folks updating Katie's Wikipedia entry – and set Katie's publicist Matthew Hiltzik reeling.

It took two hours between the article's initial filing on Access Hollywood's website for a corrected version to appear, we're told. But on a slow gossip Saturday, Page Six took the incident one step further — alleging (via a NBC source) that the item was a deliberate move from inside 30 Rock to bitchslap their former morning darling.

But after speaking to a NBC Universal insider with knowledge of the situation, we've learned nobody inside NBC chief Bob Wright's camp had anything to do with the AccessHollywood.com item. The erroneous posting was, in fact, just a screw up due to not fully vetting the interview transcript from May and failing to include Couric's most recent comments. So no, there's no conspiracy here. And we, of all people, we're hoping for one.

Which Anchors Put Themselves In The Line Of Fire? [AccessHollywood.com]
'ACCESS' BLOWS KATIE QUOTES [Page Six]