Earlier this evening, word escaped NBC that the network had fired the producer who created the edit of the George Zimmerman that cast him as a racist. The New York Times reports:
NBC News has fired a producer who was involved in the production of a misleading segment about the Trayvon Martin case in Florida.
The person was fired on Thursday, according to two people with direct knowledge of the disciplinary action who declined to be identified discussing internal company matters. They also declined to name the fired producer. A spokeswoman for NBC News declined to comment.
The action came in the wake of an internal investigation by NBC News into the production of the segment, which strung together audio clips in such a way that made George Zimmerman’s shooting of Mr. Martin sound racially motivated. Ever since the Feb. 26 shooting, there has been a continuing debate about whether race was a factor in the incident.
The segment in question was shown on the “Today” show on March 27. It included audio of Mr. Zimmerman saying, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.”
But Mr. Zimmerman’s comments had been taken grossly out of context by NBC. On the phone with a 911 dispatcher, he actually said of Mr. Martin, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.” Then the dispatcher asked, “O.K., and this guy — is he white, black or Hispanic?” Only then did Mr. Zimmerman say, “He looks black.”
NBC continues to insist that the edit was a “mistake.” As I’ve written before, that is highly implausible.
NBC has also failed to apologize to the one person most directly impacted by its deception:
On April 4, the network news division said in a statement that it deeply regretted the “error made in the production process.”
“We will be taking the necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future and apologize to our viewers,” the network said.
The network owes an apology, at least, to George Zimmerman.
NBC isn’t the only network to have committed deceit with regard to the Zimmerman/Martin shooting. CNN aired the word of a supposed audio expert who was sure that Zimmerman had uttered a racial slur during that same 911 call that NBC edited, only to reverse that and now say that Zimmerman probably said a much milder, and race neutral, word. ABC posted video of Zimmerman on the night of the shooting that was captured at the police station in Sanford, FL, and ABC built a story around the apparent lack of wounds on Zimmerman’s head in the video. ABC later had to reverse that, when a clearer version of the video showed strong evidence of at least two bloody gashes on Zimmerman’s head, which were consistent with his statement that Trayvon Martin had attacked him on the night of the shooting. And the New York Times invented a new racial category, “white Hispanic,” to describe Zimmerman in its stories about the shooting.
What, NYTs, no “claims” to have fired the employee, or do you guys reserve your skepticism for conservative groups and individuals.
This smells of NBC CYA, and to take their word that anyone received any disciplinary actions would be foolish.
– will land him on his feet elsewhere.
That call really didn’t need to be edited. He shot the kid anyway.
The “kid” drew first blood and these were not scratches on the arm. He broke the mans nose and opened up the back of his head.
A free man has the right to defend himself.
It seems Zimmerman has a legitimate civil case against NBC regardless. NBCs actions were willful and deliberate.
As for Zimmerman shooting Martin, I fail to see how Zimmerman was not justified in his action. Martin initiated the assault. Zimmerman had every right to use any means at his disposal to defend himself.
Arguably, castle doctrine would apply to Trayvon Martin as much as Mr. Zimmerman, assuming he felt the man following him was a threat…
But in the end, that should be determined by law enforcement officers and, if necessary, the courts. Either way, NBC’s actions were reprehensible on a number of levels.
How come Spike Lee hasn’t tweeted this guys home address? Come on Spike tweet it, you know you want to. Hypocrisy. Mendacity.
Because Spike ended up paying a settlement to the elderly couple. He doesn’t want to do stupid twice within several weeks’ time. Or so Spike’s attorney and accountant have advised him.
Did he really? That’s interesting – could you provide a link?
I’m not one to promote the lawsuit route but I hope George Zimmerman sues NBC out of existence.
If the guy (or gal) isn’t named how do we know he actually got fired?
Shouldn’t this guy’s future employers know of this major screw up? Admittedly whoever they dismiss at NBC will go straight to some other part of the liberal talking points industrial complex. But whoever DOES hire him needs to be able to explain why they feel that this man needs a job when so many are out of work.
I’m with you, Chris, NBC didn’t fire anybody; they gave him a bonus and a vacation if anything. But, if they did fire somebody he/she will be introduced as the next un-vetted White House Communist Communications Czar. Just like Van ‘Uncle Joe’ Jones….these vermin just keep skulking around like roaches.
” this major screw up” ?
This will be a resume enhancer for some employers. I would be surprised if the Southern Poverty Law Center does not have the producer tagged as a crusader for justice.
Just another Lame Scream Media cover-up! Let’s all watch the Today Show with Mat LIAR, giving us Nothing But Crap!
The harm done by these errors can not be undone. There will very likely be an indictment for murder and a long drawn out trial of Zimmerman, not based on the actual evidence in the case, but because a segment of the public is demanding it. The public pressure has been enhanced by a good deal of disinformation that has been passed on by the press.
Given the evidence so far, it is unlikely that Zimmerman will be convicted of anything. The most likely thing will be a long drawn out trial that is extremely divisive and one that will end in either acquittal or a hung jury.
For this we can thank NBC, ABC and CNN.
And upon acquittal some will die and cities will burn
Sadly, I agree….all the hate and anger being stirred up by the ‘reverends’ is going to result in violence – bet on it, no doubt. I live a comfortable life in a nice neighborhood with good neighbors, sidewalks, children playing everywhere, we are predominantly retired Army (ages 40-50)with the vast majority of us being veterans of multiple combat deployments. I am a retired paratrooper/Ranger who is very well armed, as are most of my neighbors. We enjoy our quiet, peaceful lives and do not want any trouble. But, be warned, any potential vigilantes or race-mobs out there….be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. As the Good Book says, “We reap what we sow” reverends.
*CRICKETS CHIRPING*
Does not matter. America has fallen.
Brian, the culpability goes to the March 19th segment, they are palming off the 27th segment, but there is only audio of Taafe, Zimmerman’s neighbor on that segment,
Too late. Why did the guy think it was ok to do such an edit? He’d been with NBC for a while, how could he be in such a culture and not absorb it? Or did he, and with NBC, altering evidence to fit a narrative is ok? And for NBC to not immediately express horror about such a deceptive edit shreds whatever credibility they had left. No one associated with NBC News has any credibility anymore.
Chris @ 7:
Exactly.
NBC/Today had no problem with the public smearing of Zimmerman, purporting to show him doing something he did not actually do.
And yet they shield the identity of a person who actually did do something wrong. And not just *anything* something, but the kind of thing that should be and used to be the #1 professional crime in journalism: flat-out fabricating “evidence” to destroy someone.
That this is an ethics violation of the highest order in that (so-called) profession would, one would think, make the perpetrator absolutely toxic to any other respectable news organization.
The left has no problem with hounding Rush Limbaugh out of his livelihood, permanently, for calling Sandra Fluke a slut.
But no, can’t possibly ostracize a news producer out of his/her livelihood for actually FABRICATING something with the most malicious intent and possibly violent repercussions. And no, won’t provide information that the public would find useful to (A) verify that this person had actually been appropriately penalized, and (B) monitor that person’s subsequent activities in journalism (i.e. why would one trust any future story or program to which this person is hence attached?).
NBC = Pravda. Propagandists & liars who work to advance the goals & agenda of the Statists.
(Add in CBS, ABC, NYT, WaPo, etc.)
I want to posit a question to the fools of the media–and that is the only word for it– who think they are going to get away with this lynch mob atmosphere they created:
Holy heck was raised by the left about the need for ObamaCare and the public still does not support it.
Holy heck was raised by the left in 2005-6 about continuing the war in Iraq and the war was continued.
Holy heck was raised by the left about George Bush in 2004 but George Bush was reelected.
Holy heck was raised by the left about the 2000 recount result but eventually nobody ended up caring.
Holy heck was raised by the left in the 90s about welfare reform and welfare reform was passed.
Holy heck was raised by the left in the early 80s about more aggressively confronting the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union was more aggressively confronted.
Holy heck was raised by the left in 1968 and Richard Nixon was elected.
You folks of the media can skew a lot of things successfully and do a lot of damage to a lot of people, but even today, even after two generations of actively trying to obtain permanent power for the Democratic party and Progressive cause via “brainwashing” the people as best as you can, if you folks think you are going to be able to act with impunity and just do anything you wish without taking mortal hits in return, you are sadly mistaken and have sadly misunderestimated the mass of America–and dare I say it, white America (as it is obvious by this affair, if I were in a similar situation, that you will only let me be ‘white’, so I guess I will be white, with no shame, and with head held in pride. White America–and in particular Northern European white America, and in particular British Isles- descended white America, created a nation out of a wilderness; created the world’s first successful and long-lived constitutional Republic; created the world’s first large-scale heterogeneous Republic; fought a war to preserve that Republic and freed the slaves; ended Nazi fascism; stopped Communism; created the most prosperous and freest nation in the history of mankind, ever; invited members of all the nations of the world to come and partake of that bounty; and put a man on the moon. If that is a race you wish to automatically malign and convict members of anytime you wish to, solely because they are members of that race, because the great god called Progressive liberalism demands it, go ahead–but don’t think everybody is going to be jumping aboard that train and calling you saints of the Earth.)
I hope all the above establishments named in the last paragraph go out of business.
According to the Gallup polls, http://www.gallup.com/poll/153776/Blacks-Nonblacks-Hold-Sharply-Different-Views-Martin-Case.aspx blacks believe that George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin and that OJ Simpson did not murder his ex wife Nichole and Ron Goldman.
I actually don’t blame them, though I cannot support them in this. They know their issues, they know their weaknesses, and they know that many of those issues have initial root causes in not really being able to be a fully-rounded society for hundreds of years. The problems will resolve themselves in time, but since there are some deep seated and self-defeating cultural forces at work in some of those communities, regardless of how those forces got into play to start with, it will probably takes two or three more generations to move the means to parity.
Since, at the moment, no one else can say anything about the situation without being mau-mau’d, only the black underclass community is going to be able to truly solve its problems, because–regardless of how those problems came into being–they are amenable to cultural solutions and only one group can make that happen or point out the need. But others, while not being able to critique due to political correctness, still do not have to enable or reinforce failure, and so choose not to do so (And of course, there is a growing and thriving black middle class, obvious to me in its growth over the past twenty years.)
Thus, it seems to me, that particularly in the lower quartiles, that some folks get tired of ‘losing’, especially considering how they came to be losing in the first place, and every so often they just want a win for the team, no matter deserved or not.
This is all human and understandable. It does not mean we sacrifice people to satiate the need.
Going further on the above–it is very clear to me, though I admit I may not be 100% correct in all that I cite, that the desire to raise the condition of the lower part of the black community has so overriden the judgments of many that it is now at the stage such that whenever it becomes a choice between rendering some kind of check to that underclass or doing damage to the entire commonweal, the choice is made to do damage to the entire commonweal.
Thus, since one cannot cast aspersion on out-of-wedlock births lest the hair of the black underclass get mussed, all of society starts having more out-of-wedlock births. Since the inner urban areas need healthcare, all of society becomes ground under the provisions of ObamaCare. Since it is imperative that no one point out weaknesses in black culture lest funding for programs gets reduced, political correctness runs amuck. Since the black underclass wants the American dream of home ownership, but not enough capital exists or earnings in-flows are coming into those communities, the entire mortgage lending system has safeguards removed. Since the black underclass community feels Federal programs are the only hope of salvation, the entire nation gets sent to the brink of financial insovency. Since the black underclass community feels it is still subject to white racism, George Zimmerman gets put under a bill of attainder. And so on.
I have nothing but the greatest hopes for the greater financial success of the black underclass, but we are not sacrificing the entire nation and all its principles just because it cannot be achieved tomorrow.
The above is a thesis I have been thinking of for some time now. However, I feel I have underemphasized concern for the underclass in general, of all races, as a motivating factor of the above, and so say it now.
It is clear from NBC’s words and deeds that the realization has not yet dawned on them that they are staring into the gaping maw of an extremely large civil suit over this.
There are compounded evils involved with most human tragedies; this event is one. It is tragic that a young man was killed for incredibly stupid reasons. We have a legal system which is actively investigating the cause, and probable blame. This takes time. Many subtle facts, and suspicions, must be weighed. I have no reason to doubt that the vast majority of Americans want this to be done right. However there are other motives, and actions at work, wholly independent from this case, and perhaps more evil, because they are premeditated.
In my life, I have come to recognize the enormous evil of lies. There is now wide spread racial hatred, attacks, and divisions among Americans, whose basis are lies surrounding these two men. It is akin to throwing a gallon of gasoline on a small fire. An isolated sorrow explodes into a national conflict.
Whatever the outcome of this case, it has become most clear that our major journalistic corporations purposefully, deliberately lie, on matters of race, and other major issues. Example: The infamous false story about George Bush’s military record, in the midst of a heated campaign, destroyed one major anchor man.
From my background, nuclear power, I know the destruction caused by the Three Mile Island accident reporting. The US has gone thirty six years since a new license was issued. When respected anchormen opine night after night, that hundreds of thousands will die, it is difficult to rebut the “news”. Panic and hatred were white hot. However, no reporter can now stand over one grave near that plant, and truthfully report this person was killed by radiation. Not one. They have reported, one by one, that over 1,300,000 people were killed by automobiles since then, half of them due to alcohol ingestion.
I do not believe the MSM.
There may be an concerted effort in order to stir up racial violence for the purpose of keeping obama in office through martial law.
http://www.divinecosmos.com/start-here/davids-blog/1043-massarrests
“A mass-market paperback book entitled The Glasshouse Tapes was published by Louis Tackwood…
…Tackwood and his accomplices would then cause a riot on the convention floor, with the demonstrators battling police. During the resulting uproar, the vice-president would be shot on nationwide TV to gain maximum impact.
This incident would be followed by a wave of nationwide bombings, for which the revolutionary left would openly take credit.
In response, President Nixon would then have the justification to declare a state of national emergency, and essentially suspend Constitutional rights….
11 The idea in such an assassination strategy is, of course, to create a chaotic condition. This is usually considered a necessity in coup-making. At the peak of chaos, you move quickly and ruthlessly to seize power by force and kill your opposition during the turmoil….”
1. The Left seeks power in order to do as it pleases.
2. The Left seeks to do as it pleases in order to gain more power.
3. Every topic and every event are looked at by the Left through the lens of how it can be used to advance either Item 1 or Item 2.
This is really all there is to understand about the left.
Remember that in Orwell’s 1984 certain words were removed from the vocabulary? Our public education system has produced a sub-educated class without a knowledge of history and non-extistent critiical-thinking skills. This group is easily swayed and heeds the call of the Sharptons and Jacksons and media talking heads. As a result the Sharpton/Jackson/MSM gain power.
Yet NBC doesn’t put their apology or this firing on the air. It’s all done via press releases or leaks. Kind of like newspapers printing smears on the front page and retractions on p. 200.
On this Zimmerman thing, the “error” by NBC actually consisted of two errors. First, they edit out the dispatcher’s question that led to Zimmerman saying Martin looked black. Everyone has reported that. But they also edited out the part where Zimmerman said Martin looked suspicious because he was walking around, looking around (in the rain). Martin wasn’t just walking along. This is the legitimate basis for Zimmerman being suspicious. So, erase the real reason and put in a false (racist) reason that fits your narrative.
No wait Mr. Coehn you left out a few folks: Aah, Al (Tawana! I can see my ratings coming back) Sharpton, Jessie (I’m better when I bad!) jackson, The Black (Dog ain’t got nottin on US!) Panthers, Eric (Dah Sphinx) Holder, And ladies and gentlemen (If I had a kid he would look just like me) El Presidente.
We are so so lucky to have these folks in our society along with the mystery producer, and the Asinine suits of the corrupt media. Say there Messrs AC & N. Old Joe Goebbels would be real proud of your competencies.
Will somebody please find a replacement for Bill Safire soon!
Possibly, Tammy Delgado. She the Executive Producer at NBC Miami(This is the station where Katie Couric and Rick Sanchez worked). Also, from her LinkedIn profile, and other sites, she seems…not very pleasant.
Actually, I hope she keeps her job in Miami. Then, she can’t be promoted.
A number of years ago, NBC planted explosive devices on Chevy trucks and filmed them being involved in staged side-impact collisions. At the time, there was some amount of controversy over the trucks’ being prone to bursting into flames in the event of a side impact (as a consequence of the gas tank mounting position). So NBC rigged a few trucks to ensure they burst into flames when they were filmed. And oddly enough, the network “forgot” to disclose its actions. It wasn’t until after a third party uncovered the deception that the network apologized. So now we have audio of a 9-1-1 call that was “accidentally” altered. That’s a bit much to accept. Rather it seems that NBC is perfectly willing to compromise journalistic integrity in effort to sensationalize its “news” coverage, and serve a particular agenda. One can only wonder how many other times NBC’s deceptions have gone by undiscovered.
Enough already..please start ignoring this story…you are falling for the Marxists attempts to deflect from Obozo’s lousy record. Stop looking at the shiny things…..
Name him, shame him.
The tape wasn’t “edited”. The word “editited” implies that clarity was added. I believe the word you are looking for is, “doctored”, Mr. Preston.
Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the race of the recently fired Miami based NBC producer?
NBC did the producer a favor. It would have been very uncomfortable woprking there when Zimmerman owns it.
I wish I had thought of this.
http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Gettysburg-Address-Highlights-NBC-News-Edition
All the news we can skew to fit our view.