MSNBC invited viewers Wednesday to draw their own conclusions about whether the parent of a Connecticut school shooting victim was heckled at a legislative hearing but didn't address criticism that it aired a deceptively edited video of the event.
The NBC-owned cable news network found itself under attack for its editing practices less than a year after three employees of NBC or an NBC-owned station lost their jobs over the editing of a 911 call in the Trayvon Martin case.
On Monday, MSNBC's Martin Bashir reported on hearing testimony given that day by Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse, was killed last month in the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
In the hushed hearing room, Heslin said, "I ask if there's anybody in this room that can give me one reason or challenge this question: why anybody in this room needs to have ... one of these assault-type weapons or military weapons or high-capacity clips?"
Heslin paused for five seconds and looked around him. No one else spoke.
"Not one person can answer that question," he said.
Then, someone in the audience shouted: "The Second Amendment shall not be infringed."
After the audience was admonished by a legislator not to speak, Heslin said, "Anyway, we're all entitled to our own opinion, and I respect their opinions and thoughts, but I wish they'd respect mine and give it a little bit of thought."
Video aired by Bashir Monday omitted the challenge, depicting Heslin saying: "Why anybody in this room needs to have ... one of these assault-type weapons or military weapons." At that point, without any pause, the audience member's interjection about the Second Amendment was heard. Heslin's comment about respecting opinions was omitted.
The camera then focused on Bashir, who said, "a father's grief interrupted by the cries of a heckler."
The passage as aired by MSNBC received criticism for being deceptive.
"This is not how a legitimate, professional news organization operates," said Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog. "MSNBC's relentless anti-gun advocacy is bad enough, but this is downright dishonest."
MSNBC spokeswoman Lauren Skowronski did not immediately address questions about why MSNBC made the changes or whether criticism that it was misleading is valid. http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/crime/msnbc-criticized-for-editing-of-gun-hearing-video/nWBZH/
Why can't these "news organizations" just report the news and stop the false editing.
And to those who criticize Fox News, show me where the falsely edited a story to fit their agenda.
The NBC-owned cable news network found itself under attack for its editing practices less than a year after three employees of NBC or an NBC-owned station lost their jobs over the editing of a 911 call in the Trayvon Martin case.
On Monday, MSNBC's Martin Bashir reported on hearing testimony given that day by Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse, was killed last month in the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
In the hushed hearing room, Heslin said, "I ask if there's anybody in this room that can give me one reason or challenge this question: why anybody in this room needs to have ... one of these assault-type weapons or military weapons or high-capacity clips?"
Heslin paused for five seconds and looked around him. No one else spoke.
"Not one person can answer that question," he said.
Then, someone in the audience shouted: "The Second Amendment shall not be infringed."
After the audience was admonished by a legislator not to speak, Heslin said, "Anyway, we're all entitled to our own opinion, and I respect their opinions and thoughts, but I wish they'd respect mine and give it a little bit of thought."
Video aired by Bashir Monday omitted the challenge, depicting Heslin saying: "Why anybody in this room needs to have ... one of these assault-type weapons or military weapons." At that point, without any pause, the audience member's interjection about the Second Amendment was heard. Heslin's comment about respecting opinions was omitted.
The camera then focused on Bashir, who said, "a father's grief interrupted by the cries of a heckler."
The passage as aired by MSNBC received criticism for being deceptive.
"This is not how a legitimate, professional news organization operates," said Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog. "MSNBC's relentless anti-gun advocacy is bad enough, but this is downright dishonest."
MSNBC spokeswoman Lauren Skowronski did not immediately address questions about why MSNBC made the changes or whether criticism that it was misleading is valid. http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/crime/msnbc-criticized-for-editing-of-gun-hearing-video/nWBZH/
Why can't these "news organizations" just report the news and stop the false editing.
And to those who criticize Fox News, show me where the falsely edited a story to fit their agenda.
This is one of those lines where it's subjective whether the edit was intended for effect or for brevity. And it's subjective whether the edit makes any difference in how the video is perceived. One thing I do know: Brent Bozell making this kind of complaint is like the pot calling the kettle black. His "NewsBusters" makes a regular habit of "watchdogging" the mainstream media by twisting things out of context.
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