Here’s a great catch from John Sexton of Twitchy sister-site Hot Air. As we noted earlier, Barack Obama managed to piss off both the Right and the Left with his tweet commemorating the death of Trayvon Martin. You might remember a scandal at the time: NBC News used an edited version of George Zimmerman’s call to the police to make it sound as if Zimmerman told police, “He looks black” unsolicited. The unedited call, however, showed that Zimmerman only brought up race when asked by the police officer.
Sexton notes that the New York Times Opinion account’s pinned tweet uses the edited audio. The edit comes in at 0:56.
"My first response to Trayvon Martin's death was as a parent, the thing we fear most," said President @BarackObama.
"Then, when you found out the circumstances, I responded specifically as a Black parent and as a Black man." https://t.co/JneZflCk8k pic.twitter.com/NRNkrt8fLf
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) February 26, 2022
In 2012, NBCs Today show aired a misleading edit of George Zimmerman's 911 call. After an internal investigation, a producer at Today was fired. @brianstelter wrote a piece for the NY Times about it. pic.twitter.com/vrgOWzOAX1
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 28, 2022
A few weeks later (Apr 2012), NBC also fired an award winning journalist in Florida over the same misleading edit. This is from the Hollywood Reporter. pic.twitter.com/FM1Vdi7k5b
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 28, 2022
This weekend, the NY Times published a video to mark the 10th anniversary of Trayvon Martin's death and they used the same misleading edit which resulted in firings a decade ago. Here's it is:https://t.co/FtOljeNXDg
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 28, 2022
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Back when NBC News did this in 2012 they claimed it was a mistake and definitely not intentional.
Did the NY Times make a mistake? Is this just like their editorial blaming Sarah Palin for inciting the Tucson shooting?
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 28, 2022
Is it intention, or are the New York Times’ reporters so in the bubble they missed out on the whole scandal?
This was a pretty high-profile project for the Times opinion side including an interview with former President Obama. They've promoted it repeatedly on their Twitter feed. In fact, it's currently the pinned tweet: https://t.co/R54Y8qIk8I
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 28, 2022
It seems unlikely this was just something that flew under the radar. But I'd love to hear @NYTimesOpinion offer some explanation as to why this misleading edit, which was grounds for firing at NBC News (which the Times covered), is now being offered by the Times itself.
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 28, 2022
And yes, given that @brianstelter wrote about this when it happened in 2012, it would be great if he would take a look at it again in 2022.
— John Sexton (@verumserum) February 28, 2022
Brian Stelter is CNN’s media reporter — this sort of thing is right up his alley. Heck, he already wrote a story about it when it happened. What are the chances it makes his newsletter?
Related:
George Zimmerman sues NBC over edited 911 call; Network claims 'no intent' to portray unfairly http://t.co/XY7GaAhr
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 6, 2012
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