NBC Launches Internal Investigation Of Misleadingly Edited Zimmerman 911 Call
VIDEO
by Noah Rothman | 12:04 pm, April 1st, 2012
» 208 comments
NBC announced on Saturday that it would launch an internal investigation into a misleadingly edited 911 call that aired on the network which featuring George Zimmerman on the night that Trayvon Martin was shot.

The edited call which aired on NBC’s Today on March 27 featured Zimmerman talking to a 911 dispatcher. “This guy looks like he’s up to no good … he looks black,” Zimmerman said in the edited segment.

The Washington Post published an unedited transcript of how that conversation actually occurred:

Zimmerman: “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.”
Dispatcher: “OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?”
Zimmerman: “He looks black.”
MSNBC.com published a printed version of that call featuring the edited segment of Zimmerman’s conversation with the 911 dispatcher. As of this writing, MSNBC has not yet issued a retraction or apology.

The editing clearly attempts to paint Zimmerman as, at the least, racially insensitive. Why else would he volunteer that Martin appeared to be African American unsolicited? The difference between offering that assessment voluntarily and responding to a 911 dispatcher’s request for a suspect’s description should be self-evident.

By announcing an internal investigation, NBC has acknowledged the problem. The investigation may find one or several individuals who, in the zealous pursuit of ratings, momentarily forgot about the standards of journalistic ethics that should be applied to a pending criminal case which has also become a national scandal.

What the investigation is unlikely to reveal, however, is the increasingly evident appearance of an institutional proclivity to try George Zimmerman in the court of public opinion. MSNBC’s, and to a lesser extent, NBC’s viewers have responded positively to the editorial voice on the analysis of the Zimmerman case their ratings have jumped as a result of so/me of the host’s rather sensationalist coverage. That does not make it decent or right.

Now a selectively edited call that explicitly misrepresents the facts has been presented to the public as news. That’s where NBC has smartly drawn the line. Rational, unprejudiced coverage of this tragic and inflammatory event must prevail here — before the passions surrounding this case spiral beyond NBC’s, or anyone else’s, control.

I saw this the other day..

NBC is a disgrace..

I always have heard the version where he was asked about race,,,,

Today, ABC has made an astounding about-face on a story related to the Trayvon Martin shooting. Less than a week after proclaiming that new video showed no signs of injury on Zimmerman the night of the shooting, ABC has now released an enhanced version of the same video. The new video clearly shows a bloody gash on the back of Zimmerman's head. Here's the lede of the story ABC published Wednesday March 28th:
A police surveillance video taken the night that Trayvon Martin was shot dead shows no blood or bruises on George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who says he shot Martin after he was punched in the nose, knocked down and had his head slammed into the ground. 
[...] 
In the video an officer is seen pausing to look at the back of Zimmerman's head, but no abrasions or blood can be seen in the video and he did not check into the emergency room following the police questioning.
Obviously, the bombshell ABC is touting here is that the video appears to contradict claims that Zimmerman was injured and acted in self-defense. They present the video as evidence to the contrary. By that evening, the Daily Caller and others began to question what was visible in the video. By Friday March 30, just two days after ABC published its scoop, MSNBC ran a story contradicting ABC and showing evidence of an injury on Zimmerman's head. 
Now, five days after their big scoop, ABC has posted new video under the headline "George Zimmerman: Enhanced Video Shows Injury." As you'll see, ABC makes no mention of the fact that their previous story was wrong. And thus far, ABC does not appear to have published a print version of the story. Keep in mind that the claim Zimmerman was injured was widely known before ABC posted the video. In other words, they knew what they should be looking for in the clip. And yet it seems they were unable to find it for five days, even though other media outlets pointed it out within 48 hours. 
At this point, ABC needs to explain why it took them until today to correct the record. Enhancing 4-5 minutes of video is not a five day job. This is one of several missteps by major media in this case. Earlier, NBC deliberately miscut George Zimmerman's 911 call in a way that insinuated George Zimmerman was profiling Trayvon Martin because he was black.
NBC has now launched an internal investigation to find out how the botched audio wound up on "The Today Show." Notice that in both instances the initial media error works against Zimmerman. Suspicion of Zimmerman's story is certainly appropriate, but what ABC and NBC have done goes well beyond that. They have carelessly -- or deliberately -- put out false and misleading information in a way that pours fuel on the firestorm surrounding this case. That may be good for ratings. But it's unprofessional, and worse, deeply unethical.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/04/02/hd-zimmerman-head-gash-abc

This kind of thing is why I don't believe ANYTHING from any of the so-called news programs these days. Their sole, single, only consideration is dramatic effect. I miss Uncle Walter.

thats understandable

its why I prefer to have scrutinized 'facts' come out in a trial,,,

How about just having the facts period.
The whole frenzy started because the media edited the 911 tapes and the video footage of Zimmerman. In the link I posted you can clearly see the gashes in Zimmermans head.
And look at the original pics shown by the media Martin from several years ago.
I'm tired of hearing him still being described as a little kid. He was 17 years old. He was 6' tall. And Zimmerman didn't out weigh Martin by 100 pounds.
This wouldn't even be a story if the media didn't twist the the facts and edit out the truth.

The only one I've heard up until a couple days ago was the edited version.

nothing is clear here in terms of facts

the first reports I heard in 'media' did not have an edited tape,,but the whole conversation and people were upset THEN because the boy was unarmed and shot by someone with a gun who was still walking the streets FREE after saying on tape that he had been following the unarmed boy,,,

the family originally released older pics

he was a kid compared to the person who shot him, he paid no bills, he was still in high school

Zimmerman didnt outweigh him by 100 pounds, but he did outweigh him, he out 'experienced' him and out weaponed him and out BULKED him,,,,,

this became a story because the parents drew attention to their child being shot dead by an armed adult who was being allowed to walk free,,,,

Well, but I don't think this case is unusual at all. The media constantly has to have something to exclaim about. Remember what they did with the Terry Schiavo case. Jon Benet Ramsay. OJ Simpson. They're addicted to this kind of thing. They ALWAYS do trial by media.
They ALWAYS twist the facts to be as inflammatory as possible. And the public eats it up with glee. Nobody ever stops to ask, "Is what I'm reading or hearing truly the complete story?" What might the other side be?" It makes me sick.

cant help it in the media age where people have been indoctrinated in the 'right to know' culture

and jurors who are given explicit instructions to consider the case BECAUSE of that tendency for media to report facts

as I recall, the public thought the parents killed jon benet, she was found in the family home by the father after a gathering of family and friends had been called, but POLICE botched it by letting the father look for her so they were never charged

In the oj case, their appeared to be dna evidence but the POLICE botched it by holding on to the evidence so long and by having questionable evidence and a questionable officer on the case with potentially biased motives,,,,

In the Terry Schiavo case, the next of kin rights withstood public outcry and it remained the husbands call

in this case though, its the family that has the right to know, without doubt, and I hope they find out the facts

a jury should have facts , the police should not BOTCH an investigation, and the parents should get some closure,,,

I agree with all your points, but my point was a little different -- that the media feels no necessity to tell the simple truth without drama, and especially doesn't point out what is NOT known.

What upset me the most about the Schiavo case was that Congress felt like they had to get involved, when there was absolutely no reason for them to and no possible good could come of it.

I certainly agree with you about police incompetence and wanting the facts to come out however they have to come out.