NY Times reporting NBC News has fired producer of misleading Zimmerman tape, but won't say who it was nyti.ms/HWJSJf @brianstelter
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Evan Coyne Maloney (@BrainTerminal) April 06, 2012Filmmaker Evan Coyne Maloney of Brain Terminal tweets out the news of NBC’s decision. The initial twitter reaction was heavily skeptical given how biased the media has been thus far in the Zimmerman/Martin case.
Question: Why won’t NBC News tell us who was responsible for the misleading edit? Where’s the transparency?
@BrainTerminal "The people w/direct knowledge of the firing characterized the misleading edit as a mistake, not a purposeful act." Uh-huh.—
Ed Driscoll (@EdDriscoll) April 06, 2012
If NBC News won't say who was fired over the edited Zimmerman 911 call, how do we know they fired anyone at all? #trust #media @brianstelter—
Evan Coyne Maloney (@BrainTerminal) April 06, 2012
Mistake? #lackofaccountability "@nytimes: Media Decoder: NBC Fires Producer of Misleading Tape in Florida Killing nyti.ms/HnnAie"—
Lance Valcour (@Lance_Valcour) April 06, 2012
Accidental firing? MT @BrainTerminal NYT reporting NBC News fired producer of misleading Zimmerman tape, but won't say who it was—
Stephen Green (@VodkaPundit) April 06, 2012
NYT: NBC Fires Producer Responsible For Doctored Zimmerman "He's Black" Tape, But Refuses To Say Who bit.ly/HZgH7m—
(@AoSHQ) April 06, 2012
NBC waits til Fri eve on a 2-holiday wknd to admit they fired a producer who misled the public by editing Trayvon evidence. cc @brianstelter—
Maya Baratz (@mbaratz) April 06, 2012
Sure, I believe NBC doesn't shape stories to fit an opinion.
NBC Fires Producer of Misleading Zimmerman Tape: nyti.ms/HtzuWP—
Darren Shepherd (@toshtech) April 06, 2012
@brianstelter Why won't they name the producer? NBC #hypocrites—
lara martinez (@liebenlaramutti) April 06, 2012
#NBC accidentally,not purposefully fired the producer that accidentally edited the Zimmerman tapes,accidentally,really not purposefully.—
lcp (@PeabodyLC) April 06, 2012
By covering up the name of the "fired" producer, NBC News is guaranteeing this person will be in a position to lie to the public again soon—
Evan Coyne Maloney (@BrainTerminal) April 06, 2012
NBC Fires Producer of Misleading Zimmerman Tape: nyti.ms/HtzuWP Apparently, NBC hires people without names.—
'Jim' 'Treacher' (@jtLOL) April 07, 2012
Not good enough- –NBC Fires Producer Who Created False Zimmerman Audio newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-…—
Nachumlist.com (@Nachumlist) April 07, 2012
Useful Idiot of the Week: The recently fired and still unnamed NBC Producer who disgracefully edited the tape of George Zimmerman's 911 call—
joepa (@joepalive) April 07, 2012
@DefendWallSt And so how do we know that is in fact the case?—
Nickarama (@Nickarama1) April 07, 2012
So @NBCNews this NAMELESS lying fraudster race-baiter can now work ANYWHERE without public scrutiny cuz you won't name!!!!!!!! #GotCoverUp—
John Nolte (@NolteNC) April 07, 2012
We will continue to update the story with reaction as it develops.
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More from Newsbusters:
NBC News has fired the producer it says was responsible for creating the deceptive audio recording of George Zimmerman communicating with a 9-1-1 operator, according to the New York Times.
The network is still refusing to release the name of the producer, although according to Times reporter Brian Stelter, the producer is based in Miami and has worked there for a number of years. According to Stelter’s network sources, NBC is still insisting the deceptive edit was not done deliberately. The network has refused to say how exactly someone could accidentally have edited the tape to make Zimmerman appear to be racially motivated…
John Sexton at Big Journalism, which broke the story, has lingering questions about the Friday night news dump:
The NBC producer responsible for the misleading edit of the George Zimmerman’s 911 call has been fired. The producer was reportedly fired Thursday, but the firing did not hit the press until this Friday evening, just before a holiday weekend. NBC News had no comment on the firing.
…It is likely that, if not for conservative new media, the misleading edit, which inflamed racial tensions in the Martin case, and which was repeated by Stetler’s own New York Times, would have gone unnoticed and uncorrected. As it is, the producer responsible for the edit at Today has been fired, but the individual who made the same edit to the earlier MSNBC story (since corrected) has not been identified or disciplined. Nor has anyone at any other outlet or network — many of which made similar selective editing choices — been punished.
The questions are only just beginning on Editgate. The release of the news of the firing just before the holiday weekend smacks of a cover-up; more than that, we know that the edit itself was not restricted to the Today show. Brian Williams and the brass at NBC News must provide answers. They are responsible for editorial output, not an unnamed producer. And they must be held responsible for an irresponsible and dangerous edit apparently deliberately designed to twist the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman story along racial lines.
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Related Twitchy coverage:
Don Cheadle slams NBC for misleading edit of Zimmerman 911 tape