| |
Welcome to the new home of Lee's Summit Tribune. We are dedicated to providing you the most current and accurate news and events in Lee's Summit
|
|
Home
»
Opinion
»
Media shouldn’t have edited George Zimmerman’s...
|
|
|
| | |
|
 | |  |
|
Media shouldn’t have edited George Zimmerman’s 911 call
April 7, 2012
Ramsey Fowler
More Americans are realizing that they are being deceived. It is becoming increasing clear that the mainstream media favors the Democratic establishment and is willing to put journalistic integrity aside. Unfortunately, journalism is consistently slanted to incite liberal biases. It’s disheartening that recently the New York Times and NBC were caught manipulating the coverage of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin.
We were all saddened to hear that a 17-year-old had been shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Florida. The late Trayvon Martin was a young African-American teenager and his alleged gunman, George Zimmerman, is a 28-year-old Hispanic (his father is Caucasian and his mother Peruvian). The New York Times reported this tragic event as a racially inspired hate crime. They reported that a young African-American male was shot by a “White-Hispanic.” What? That would be similar to someone referring to President Obama as a “White-African- American.”
NBC (MSNBC) dishonestly edited George Zimmerman’s 911 call by portraying him as a racist looking for a fight. They reported that one of the first things he said was, “He looks black.” If you listen to the original, unedited call between Zimmerman and the police dispatcher, Zimmerman states, “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.” The dispatcher then asked Zimmerman, “OK, is this guy, is he white, black or Hispanic?” Zimmerman responded, “He looks black.”
NBC actually decided to dishonestly alter the 911 call. Their version cuts out parts of Zimmerman and the dispatcher’s dialogue all together. NBC’s “Today Show” and MSNBC played the 911 call as Zimmerman saying, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.” That is false, inaccurate and once again deceiving the general public.
Once NBC was exposed, they were forced to respond by stating it was “an error made in the production process that we deeply regret.” The network promised “necessary steps” would be taken “to prevent this from happening in the future,” and apologized to viewers. They apologized? When I accidentally step on my friend’s toe, I apologize because it’s an honest mistake. Does NBC think we are blind enough to believe there was a horrific editing “accident?” Sorry NBC! It’s not a question of apologizing, but a question of basic journalistic integrity. It’s obviously time Americans take responsibility and get their news from a reputable source.
Director and liberal activist Spike Lee immediately weighed in on the Trayvon Martin case. He tweeted George Zimmerman’s address to 250,000 followers in hope of retaliation/justice. Unfortunately the address was inaccurate and many upset citizens rushed to elderly David and Elaine McClain’s house, who are not related to and don’t even know George Zimmerman. The McClains were forced to move into a motel for fear of being attacked by a mob. Elaine McClain said the fiasco has taken a toll on her health.
“My blood pressure is just hurting my heart,” she said. “To live in a motel room 15 by 15, it’s not the way you want to live your life.”
McClain said she and her husband may never live in their home again. Commenting on any situation without knowing the details is reckless and hurtful to many innocent victims. Unfortunately, The New Black Panthers Group has recently placed a $1,000,000 bounty on George Zimmerman. Is this the Wild West? What happened to our judicial system, and what happened to fair and honest reporting? If you don’t feel like one-sided reporting is destructive, go visit the Mcclains at the Super 8 and see how they feel.
You all know how the liberal media makes me crazy. As a teenager, I find it amazing that grown men and women falsify actual events and get away with it! I was encouraged to see the public’s negative reaction to lies in the media. Every American deserves to know the truth so we have the proper information to formulate our own opinions. Isn’t that what freedom is all about?
Winston Churchill reminded us of the danger of lies when he said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
President Abraham Lincoln confirms our need for honest journalism when he stated, “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
God Bless America!
Ramsey Fowler is a senior at Lee’s Summit West High School. Write to him at government@lstribune.net.
| |
 | |  |
| | |
|
Other Recent Articles from the Opinion Category:
| |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jackson County Executive Appoints Presiding Judge Nixon as County Counselor
|
|
|
