Editgate

Editgate refers to the various errors made by the media during the coverage of the shooting of Trayvon Martin in February 2012. The most notable of these was the editing done by NBC News of a 911 phone call by George Zimmerman to the local police. In this call, NBC edited out part of the conversation in a manner that made it appear the Zimmerman was being racist. The edited conversation was played on NBC's Today Show and by local stations. It was also made available on MSNBC.
On the recording played by NBC, Zimmerman was edited to say,
:"This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."
In the original 911 recording, Zimmerman said:
:"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 911 operator then asked:
:"OK, and this guy, is he black, white or Hispanic?"
Zimmerman answered:
:"He looks black."
The Washington Post wrote that NBC's alteration "would more readily paint Zimmerman as a racial profiler. In reality's version, Zimmerman simply answered a question about the race of the person whom he was reporting to the police. Nothing prejudicial at all in responding to such an inquiry... it's a falsehood with repercussions... To portray that exchange in a way that wrongs Zimmerman is high editorial malpractice..." The New York Times has since reported that a producer involved in the editing of the audio was fired.

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