NBC said it was "confident that its editorial decision to air the name of the rape victim is consistent with the protections afforded by the Constitution."

NBC News broadcast the woman's name and picture Tuesday, a day after it had appeared in The Globe, a supermarket tabloid. Michael Gartner, president of NBC News, defended the decision, which NBC officials said was agreed to by anchor Tom Brokaw.

"I hope this has no negative impact on this woman's life, but my first real duty is to inform my viewers," Gartner said.

Gartner is a former president and editor of The Des Moines (Iowa) Register and The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky. Both papers published the woman's name Wednesday.

NBC had received about 200 calls as of Wednesday night objecting to the broadcast, according to spokesperson Peggy Hubble. She said the network does not have a formal policy on identifying rape victims.

"Rape is rarely an issue for us. The decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. This was a long and difficult discussion," she said.

Appearing on ABC's "Nightline" Wednesday night, Gartner twice mentioned the victim's last name. ABC's policy is not to identify rape victims, said spokesperson Laura Wessner, but the network does not censor the views of those who appear on its live news shows.

The Associated Press has not disclosed the woman's name. The news agency's policy is to refrain from identifying rape victims, except in extraordinary circumstances.

Public opinion appeared to be on the side of shielding rape victims by not disclosing their names, and about 15 members of the Guardian Angels, a self-styled group of crime fighters who patrol urban areas, marched yesterday in front of NBC and The New York Times.

The group carried signs that read: "Gartner: Your Name Will Carry The Shame" and "NBC and New York Times: Integrity For Sale."

Of 1000 people questioned for a survey commissioned by the National Victim Center and released yesterday, 79 percent said they support laws barring the names and addresses of sexual assault victims from being printed or broadcast.

A USA Today survey released Wednesday showed 60 percent believe victims should decide whether they are identified and 31 percent said the name should never be made public. Six percent said no consent was necessary.

The New York Daily News conducted its own unscientific survey, asking readers with a front page headline "Was NBC Right?" By placing calls that cost 75 cents each, 1276 callers, or 79 percent, said no; 345, or 21 percent, said yes.

The issue was so charged it prompted disagreement among women's activists.

Karen DeCrow, a lawyer and former president of the National Organization for Women, wrote in USA Today that identifying rape victims would help end sexist stereotyping.