NBC Prolongs Its Zimmerman Disgrace, Refuses to Release Name of Producer
As public awareness and outrage grows over NBC's deceptive editing of the 9-1-1 call made by George Zimmerman during the night he encountered Trayvon Martin, the television network has continued to stonewall and spin instead of being forthright and honest.
According to the Reuters news service, NBC continues to insist that the producer who edited the audio of the Zimmerman did not do so intentionally. Citing what it said were sources within the network, the wire service stated that NBC believed the misleading edit to be "a very bad mistake, but not deliberate."
At the same time, however, Reuters revealed that the producer is someone who is "seasoned," presumably meaning he/she has a great deal of experience editing and putting together news reports.
It's hard to take both of these statements together seriously. You don't need any journalism experience to realize that cutting out critical seconds from a recording to create a false clip which makes someone appear to be a racist (instead of simply responding to a question from someone else) is unethical and misleading.
Certainly someone who is a "seasoned" producer wouldn't make such an outrageous mistake. Or has NBC made a habit of keeping dangerously incompetent employees on the payroll?
And yet that is exactly what NBC is demanding that you believe, simply because it says so. As of this writing, the network has provided exactly zero evidence for this proposition. It won't even release the name of the producer who edited the clip so that the public and other media organizations can investigate the background of the producer to see if that explanation holds true.
This entire incident is starting to seem increasingly similar to the CBS "Memogate" scandal which led to the ouster of that network's star anchor Dan Rather and his producer Mary Mapes. In both cases, we were told by stone-faced television network executives that the producers behind controversial (and false) segments were top-notch and that their integrity shouldn't be questioned.
Leaving aside the obvious and well-known leftist tilt of Rather, Mary Mapes was anything but an unbiased, non-ideological journalist. Quite the contrary. She was a woman who had decades worth of experience trying to shove her liberal beliefs into the news. But we never would have known this had her name been dishonestly and cowardly withheld from the public.
NBC News needs to step forward and reveal the name of the producer who edited the call and explain exactly how a veteran television professional could unintentionally edit down a clip to make someone appear to be a racist. Otherwise, most people will believe the more reasonable explanation: it was deliberate.
In either scenario, the producer who edited this segment deserves to be fired. The end result is that NBC broadcast a slanderous clip. Since Zimmerman was not a public figure at the time the clip aired, his lawyers will have no trouble making mincemeat of the network for falsely impugning him to millions of people.
That certainly what NBC feared in the late 1990s in the case of Richard Jewell, a man falsely maligned by many media organizations as being responsible for a domestic terrorism attack during the 1996 Olympics. NBC was so afraid of being embarrassed and losing out on millions that it paid Jewell $500,000 not to sue. Compared to what happened in this case, what then-NBC anchor Tom Brokaw said was full of hedging:
"The speculation is that the FBI is close to making the case. They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well. There are still some holes in this case."
Brokaw at least had the good sense to say "probably" and talk about "holes in the case." George Zimmerman received no such courtesy from NBC. Instead, he was simply characterized as a racist vigilante.
While it has since retracted the false segment, NBC hasn't even bothered to apologize in its television programming. Instead, as NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell noted last night during an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity, all it's done so far is put out a press release apologizing for the "error."
It's also worth noting that MSNBC.com, a news site which is owned by Microsoft and NBC but which features content from NBC News, ran a text version of the deceptively edited call as well. After being called out for inaccuracy by conservative bloggers, the site changed the story to provide the full context of Zimmerman's words. Instead of informing readers that a significant change had been made to its story, the website simply made the correction. It was only after MSNBC.com's violation of journalistic principle was pointed out by NewsBusters that the site bothered to tell readers of the change.
Step after step, NBC News has acted disgracefully regarding its misleading editing of the Zimmerman 9-1-1 call. It's long past time for the network to show some honesty and integrity and come completely clean about what happened. The people who created this disgrace need to be fired, no matter what their motivations were.
- Matthew Sheffield's blog
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Comments
Good Grief...
Submitted by kch50428 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 12:49pm.
The very process of EDITING anything from the raw sound is a premeditated, conscious decision. To claim it's an "inadvertent" or "a mistake" is a flat out LIE. But hey, it is NBC News - "Let's blow up a car to illustrate our story better..."
Agreed
Submitted by Iowa Boy on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 12:57pm.
I edit audio for a living. It is absolutely, categorically, unequivocally IMPOSSIBLE to move one piece of audio from one place to another and mix it down by accident or by error. It MUST be done deliberately.
Calling it an error is a LIE!
Yoo hoo....Henry....this is what a "resident expert" is
Submitted by Blonde on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 1:36pm.
Thank you, Iowa.
Something that even a child should be able to understand....but here is NBC lying and spinning. Too bad they don't have the media covering for them like Obama does to push their gross lie as the truth.
I hope they get sued out of existence for this gross malfeasance. Zimmerman's reputation has been thoroughly destroyed, and I fear the lynch mob is going to do their best to harm him.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
This "editing" mistake could
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:41pm.
This "editing" mistake could just end up as infamous as the Rosemary Woods 18-second "mistake."
As Dr. Laura used to say, picking up the wrong keys is a "mistake."
This was not a mistake.
But you have to remember, for liberals, it's not innocent until proven guilty; it's innocent until they admit they are guilty.
Mr. Zimmerman needs to have his attorney file a civil suit
Submitted by Willis_Leon_Johnson on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 12:54pm.
For no less than a few hundred million dollars for "Deliberately, Willfully, and Intentionally Endangering his life".
Likewise the new black cancer leader, jackson, sharpton, spike lee and rosie o'donnell.
All the individual players need to have criminal charges filed as well, arrested and held without bail due to flight risk to escape prosecution.
End 'gun violence in America' - Require training and MANDATORY "Shall Carry" by every Citizen.
If harry reid is the best person to lead the senate, what does that say about the other 99 senators?
"Unprecedented" perhaps?
Submitted by Tomorama on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 1:07pm.
So the audio and the text versions were "edited" and both were just an "error".
What are the odds of two similar "errors" being made at the same time?
The same odds that OJ Simpson will be our next President.
Media Matters
Submitted by desert3030 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 1:09pm.
Media Matters and the DNC have not given them the talking points to respond with yet. They all have been busy covering for the "Law Professor" missteps, and statements.
Media
Submitted by AntiMedia on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:59pm.
Maybe the producer did the story after reading Media Matters.
ABC News tops NBC in fraudulent, reckless reporting.
Submitted by MommyMia on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 1:22pm.
Not to detract from NBC's lies, but I have to include ABC News' fraud here, too -- They intentionally hid Zimmerman's injuries and they should not be allowed to get away with it.
Four days ago, they aired a segment in which they claimed the original footage of the police surveillance video was enhanced, revealing "possible" injuries to the back of George Zimmerman's head. However, ABC News was not truthful when they reported that the first video was the original footage.
In fact, the first footage that ABC News aired was a crappy copy made by recording the video as it played on a screen/monitor. The camera used was human-held as is evident by the tell-tale wobbling picture. Furthermore, several seconds into the first footage aired by ABC News, the camera operator actually pans the camera to center the picture because the edge of the screen/monitor is visible in the shot. This is the first video, see for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmMSaVYAcRQ
However, this so-called "enhanced" video shows footage that is perfectly steady and has a visible date/time stamp – which is consistent with a permanently mounted security camera. This "enhanced" version appears to be the original footage, or a slightly tweaked version of the original to cover ABC News' lies. They reported the screen recorded copy was used to produce the "enhanced" copy, which is not only false, but impossible. They entire tale was made up whole cloth. Watch this infuriating segment on Good Morning America: http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/george-zimmerman-enhanced-video-shows-injury-28804579.html
THIS is why the quality of the first video they released was so bad – it was intentionally bad. Why didn't ABC News air the original video footage from the start; or report that the footage initially aired was actually recorded from a screen/monitor and therefore, the quality was significantly compromised? Whoever operated the camera to record the first version released, had to have seen a much clearer picture than the public was shown.
ABC News withheld the original footage and played what looks to be a sick joke, instead. They aired a poor quality screen-recorded copy captured by someone physically holding a camera, presented it as the original footage, and then reported that the security video did not show any injuries – which contradicted George Zimmerman's claims. They intentionally obfuscated Zimmerman's wounds and then acted like they broke some scoop after they realized the genuine footage would eventually come out should Zimmerman be charged with a crime. And they had the wherewithal to pretend like they did some honest reporting and went out of their way to have the video enhanced to find the truth. THEY PATTED THEMSELVES ON THE BACK YET THEY FLAT-OUT LIED.
It's unacceptable that no media watchdog has called them out on this awful lie.
Whoa,
Submitted by Nemesisesq on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 1:54pm.
Is there an article online supporting this or something this is a big deal. People have been hurt beacause of this dishonesty.
Not a mention of ABC News' fraud.
Submitted by MommyMia on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:42pm.
I almost believe this one is so toxic, loathesome and ugly, ABC News would do anything to bury the truth about this.
I hope you watched the segment they ran on Good Morning America. The audacity just knocks you over. It makes my skin crawl to see them pretend that they enhanced that first video in the search for the truth when the entire claim is a made-up lie meant to detract from their heinous trick.
The longer they continue to let people believe that the first footage was "enhanced," The more enflamed some Trayvon-supporters become – because a lot of people believe that ABC News ADDED the injuries.
I cannot stand that ABC News might get away with this without anyone ever reporting the truth.
I said the same thing when I first saw it
Submitted by povertypimpin on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:25pm.
It was a video of a video which made absolutely no sense for ABC to release it like that. They also added that large, shaded chyron over the bottom third of the screen to obscure the picture even more. You basically had 2 levels of purposeful reduction in clarity so that his head injury could not be seen.
The hand-held camera...
Submitted by MommyMia on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:45pm.
I noticed a hand held camera, too, when the first copy was released. That's why I caught on immediately when I watched that segment. I don't understand how they are getting away with it. We can't be the only ones who noticed.
I don't know how
Submitted by fivestring_assassin on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 1:29pm.
sucessful boycotts of sposors are?...The Left engages in this all the time,,,,maybe we ought to get a list of sponsors and boycott these advertisers?
They will only respond to fear of losing money
You don't need to boycott,
Submitted by ruby2ssday on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:19pm.
You don't need to boycott, just flood them with letters, phone calls, and emails with the "threat" of a boycott.
Editing
Submitted by CJohnson on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 1:29pm.
NBC created the following: homophobes, hate speech, tea baggers. (Notice how the word homophobes makes it through the spell editing program, but heterophobes does not.)
Why is NBC immune from a malpractice lawsuit? What does their charter license say? Can anyone broadcast lies about other people?
bridge
Submitted by kinijane on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:11pm.
I own the Brooklyn Bridge, want to buy it?
I'm shocked!
Submitted by Bodini on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:11pm.
I'm shocked! The BO boot-licking Marxist-media lies and fabricates their own news? Don't they get their marching orders and talking points from BO - The Great Unifier?
Worthless pieces of SH*T!
Dan Rather redo?
Submitted by ruby2ssday on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:17pm.
Isn't this the same thing Dan Rather did that got him fired? I guess the motto of the alphabet news channels continues to be "Fake, but Accurate" (I question the 'accurate' part). They are in dire need of a good libel/slander lawsuit. This is one time where a group of slimey lawyers could do some good.
Yes they are trying to save
Submitted by tcm14 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:19pm.
Yes they are trying to save this producer from being fired by not telling who it is.
I think they need to tell the public who the producer was; after all, they did not afford George Zimmerman any anonymity, it seems kind of cowardly of them to hide the person who did this.
Whistleblower
Submitted by dmntd1 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:25pm.
They need to dig up a whistleblower there, and have them identify the producer. I wonder if they're protecting him because of his race, and don't want us to call them out on his, the producer's, racism.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
Excellent Point
Submitted by IgnatzJFahrquar on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:09pm.
Although, didn't you know that it is acceptable for minorities to be racist and not worry about repercussions? Racist Al, Jesse, the Black Caucus ... I could go on with more examples.
They (talking heads,
Submitted by Willis_Leon_Johnson on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:26pm.
They (talking heads, technical staff, and station owners) should be in danger of a criminal case for Willfully Endangering the Safety, Health and LIFE of Mr. Zimmerman.
If the 'reporter' that read the story found himself looking at 10 years in prison, as well as the entire staff, things would change across the nation rather quickly.
Zimmermans attorney should have already filed the civil suit for several hundred million dollars for the same thing.
It shouldn't be too hard to prove at this point.
That would activate the share holders into action.
End 'gun violence in America' - Require training and MANDATORY "Shall Carry" by every Citizen.
If harry reid is the best person to lead the senate, what does that say about the other 99 senators?
Yeah, "fake but accurate"
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:43pm.
That may not have been what he said, but you KNOW he was thinking it!
I'll remember this
Submitted by misterbee241 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:31pm.
the next the lefties start whining about Faux News.
Bush & Palin
Submitted by Free Stinker on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 2:57pm.
. . . now a private citizen. It was just a matter of time before the make believe media started forging documents or editing video/audio tape to slander a private citizen. They've already been doing it to Republicans for some time now.
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
Sue NBC George
Submitted by povertypimpin on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:16pm.
Part of the agreement should be that NBC has to run an apology segment on the Today show for the same amount of time they spent on the original fabrication.
Drop in the bucket
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:47pm.
If I was the judge in this case, part of the agreement would be subjecting all future NBC news and commentary to a duly appointed impartial fact checker, for a period of five years. And yes, I am including commentary, because most of MSNBC's commentary is setting a false narrative as a straw man and then tearing it down with their so called commentary. Give the fact checker his own hour long show, (I would allow commercials), to point out all the errors on NBC and affiliates "news" shows.
NBC would probably love this agreement, because the new hour long fact checking show would be the highest rated show on television, and make tons of money for NBC.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
By name and face
Submitted by gwalt on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:25pm.
I still believe NBs campaign against the lies needs to name names and show faces. Williams is a good starts with You Lie under his mugshot.
"A lot of briefing for a 2 hr. special with Dan Rather. Saw the show & wonder why we bothered". Ronald Reagan
Your local NBC affiliate
Submitted by Model850 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:30pm.
One way to pressure the network is through its local affiliates. I took the points outlined in the "Click here to contact NBC's parent company" link and reworked some of them a bit, and sent an email to my local NBC-affiliated station.
I would be interested in [local station's call letters] management's reaction to NBC news inflaming the Trayvon Martin case by:
Maliciously and deceptively editing a tape of Zimmerman's 9-1-1 call to further incite racial animosity.
NBC's investigation and apology for the "mistake" are a joke, and the network is endangering lives and property by stoking racial hatred.
NBC's irresponsibility and lies reflects on its affiliates. Is [local station] at all concerned by what the NBC brand has become?
Thank you.
I don't know what kind of reply I'll get, if any, but at least they know someone's on to the lie.
News Tip For Matthew Sheffield - CNN Hears "F***ing Coon"
Submitted by zeestephen on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:36pm.
Matthew,
A couple nights ago - 04 April as I recall - I channel surfed into Wolf Blitzer.
He may have been filling in for Anderson Cooper, but I don't watch CNN enough to know their format.
On the report CNN asked one of its own employees, an audio engineer, to "enhance" the Zimmerman 911 call.
With Wolf Blitzer at his side, the audio engineer played one brief segment over and over and over again.
The audio was an unintelligible mess.
However, Blitzer explicitly implied - over and over and over again - that Zimmerman was saying "F***ing Coon."
The next day CNN did a hasty retreat.
They used "more powerful" software or something like that, and then they decided that maybe Zimmerman was saying something else, like "F***ing Cold."
I did a 20 minute search on CNN's website, and it appears that any trace of the original "F***ing Coon" story has been purged.
However, there are multiple hits and videos for the follow up stories, where CNN backtracks from its original story.
Now remember, CNN ran the "F***ing Coon" story AFTER the NBC audio scandal had been revealed.
Either Wolf Blitzer didn't know about that.....or he didn't care.
Also, CNN keeps referring to the "911" call.
Zimmerman did NOT call 911 - he called the non-emergency number.
"punks"
Submitted by MommyMia on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:41pm.
And yet the truth is that Zimmerman said, "punks." That's what his lawyers say he said and that is what I heard the first time I heard it.
"Punk" refers to attitude and youth, not race.
I think CNN was trying to overcompensate for their little "error" – because it doesn't sound like "cold," at all, either.
That was already covered here
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 3:49pm.
That was already covered here by Tim Graham
Aready Covered? - You Are Mistaken
Submitted by zeestephen on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 4:52pm.
Tim Graham's post refers to a CNN story two weeks ago by a different reporter.
My comment refers to Wolf Blitzer doing a similar story two DAYS ago.
Blitzer did his story AFTER the NBC audio scandal was being reported.
every 20 years
Submitted by Ron_servative on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 6:00pm.
NBC has to fake more 'news'. This is worse than the '92 lighting of rockets under a Chevy truck with over filled gas tanks 'proving' how unsafe the gas tanks were in a side impact.
A great public service
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 6:16pm.
The episode of "Dateline NBC" that you refer to, Ron_servative, was of a great service to many a Chevy truck driver. I for one, after watching that show, stopped storing my blasting caps under my truck's gas tank.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Mistake or drunk
Submitted by Jerry Mack on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 6:51pm.
A mistake by a seasoned producer my sit down place. If they had said that he was drunk, I would have given them a small amount of credibility. What do they expect us to believe next? Yo producers and bigwigs: How about an interview with Bigfoot or an interview with the fisherman that hooked the Loch Ness monster but his line broke and his wife dropped the camera overboard.
Hmmmm............
Submitted by djwolf12 on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 8:31pm.
Makes you think a few months back to Ed "Wrong Way" Shultz's on air slander and smearing of Rick Perry with the Black cloud analogy. Where there is smoke, rest assured there is a fire. These people at NBC and M.S.S.R. (M-BS-NBC) are actually making Gregg Williams look like a nice guy.
Not an accident
Submitted by spallatial on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 10:51pm.
My daughter is a Copy editor. Things like this are not accidents. Total Bull Sh*t and they know it.
Give me a break!!!!
Submitted by GG_NB on Sat, 04/07/2012 - 10:06am.
Sorry, nice try. Even in jouranlism school while at the "edit bay," it is OBVIOUS by the very nature of the process how deliberate editing is...unless they left a monkey there pressing a bunch of keys and never looked at the blasted thing. Naw, that's still not possible, for a variety of reasons.
They're pressing my buttons now. Stop lying!
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan
What do I call the firing of
Submitted by sngnsgt on Sat, 04/07/2012 - 10:37am.
What do I call the firing of one producers at NBC? A good start. Move on to NSNBC get rid of the race baiter and the goons. Sharpton, O'Donnel, Schultz and Matthews should all be on Current with Al.
Most of the talking heads on TV need
Submitted by Willis_Leon_Johnson on Sat, 04/07/2012 - 10:47pm.
A long stint in rehab with waterboarding therapy to help them understand the error of their ways.
A portion of the therapy would be watching the nightly news showing clips of the days waterboarding exercise.
End 'gun violence in America' - Require training and MANDATORY "Shall Carry" by every Citizen.
If harry reid is the best person to lead the senate, what does that say about the other 99 senators?