#Trayvon: @NBCNews blames “error in production process” for doctored Zimmerman 911 call

Via WaPo’sΒ Erik Wemple:

NBC has completed its investigation into theΒ mishandling of the police dispatcher’s conversation with George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case. And the process ends with a finding of error, plus an apology. Here is the statement just issued by the network:

During our investigation it became evident that there was an error made in the production process that we deeply regret. We will be taking the necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future and apologize to our viewers.

That apology addresses the β€œToday” show’s failure to abridge accurately the conversation between Zimmerman and the dispatcher in this high-profile case. This is how the program portrayed a segment of that conversation:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.

And here is how it actually went down:

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 β€” is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

“Error made in the production process”? What a flimsy, lame excuse. Β And completely unbelievable. Β Heads should roll over this. Β Not only that, but NBC should also be apologizing to George Zimmerman and his family for the doctored tape, which I would bet money was deliberately doctored before airing. Β Hey, they’ve pulled racially sensationalistic crap like this before.

As I’ve said before, when all is said and done and assuming Zimmerman isn’t put in jail for the rest of his life over killing Trayvon Martin, both he and his family should sue the mainstream media for the outright falsehoods they’ve reported and the unsubstantiated speculation some members of the press corps have shamelessly tried to pass off as “fact.” Β The dereliction of duty by “straight news reporters” on this case is simply staggering, and it is paramount that they be held to account.

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