{"id":21119,"date":"2013-08-29T13:27:59","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T18:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=21119"},"modified":"2013-08-29T13:27:59","modified_gmt":"2013-08-29T18:27:59","slug":"manipulation-by-the-media-lessons-to-be-learned-from-zimmerman-v-nbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2013\/08\/manipulation-by-the-media-lessons-to-be-learned-from-zimmerman-v-nbc\/","title":{"rendered":"Manipulation by the Media: Lessons to be Learned from Zimmerman v. NBC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"George<\/a>Now more than ever, journalism appears to be no longer about reporting facts or the search for truth, but instead about manipulating facts to maximize ratings. A case in point is the complaint George Zimmerman filed last December against NBC. The complaint alleges NBC\u2019s use of edited 911 audio, as part of its coverage of Trayvon Martin\u2019s death, was defamatory and an intentional infliction of emotional distress.<\/p>\n

The transcript of the 911 call, released by the City of Sanford, begins as follows:<\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> Sanford Police Department. . . .<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> Hey we\u2019ve had some break-ins in my neighborhood, and there\u2019s a <\/i>real suspicious guy, uh, [near] Retreat View Circle, um, the best address I can <\/i>give you is 111 Retreat View Circle. This guy looks like he\u2019s up to no good, or <\/i>he\u2019s on drugs or something. It\u2019s raining and he\u2019s just walking around, looking <\/i>about.<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> OK, and this guy is he white, black, or Hispanic?<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> He looks black.<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> Did you see what he was wearing?<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> Yeah. A dark hoodie, like a grey hoodie, and either jeans or <\/i>sweatpants and white tennis shoes. He\u2019s [unintelligible], he was just staring . . .<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> OK, he\u2019s just walking around the area . . .<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> . . . looking at all the houses.<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> OK . . .<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> Now he\u2019s just staring at me.<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> OK \u2013 you said it\u2019s 1111 Retreat View? Or 111?<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> That\u2019s the clubhouse . . .<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> That\u2019s the clubhouse, do you know what the \u2013 he\u2019s near the <\/i>clubhouse right now?<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> Yeah, now he\u2019s coming towards me.<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> OK.<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> He\u2019s got his hand in his waistband. And he\u2019s a black male.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Zimmerman\u2019s complaint alleges \u201cNBC saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain,\u201d reported a \u201creprehensible series of imaginary and exaggerated racist claims,\u201d and created a \u201cfalse and defamatory misimpression using the oldest form of yellow journalism: manipulating Zimmerman\u2019s own words, splicing together disparate parts of the [911] recording to create the illusion of statements that Zimmerman never actually made.\u201d The complaint describes three ways in which the 911 was spliced. NBC initially edited the call as follows:<\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> There is a real suspicious guy. Ah, this guy looks like he is up to no good or he is on drugs or something. He looks black.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The next day, NBC broadcast a different edit:<\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> This guy looks like he\u2019s up to no good or on drugs or something. He\u2019s got his hand in his waistband. And he\u2019s a black male.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Two days later, a third edit was broadcast on the Today Show<\/i>:<\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> He looks like he\u2019s up to no good. He looks black.<\/i><\/p>\n

Dispatcher:<\/b> Did you see what he was wearing?<\/i><\/p>\n

Zimmerman:<\/b> Yeah, a dark hoodie.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What all three edits have in common is that each hides that Zimmerman described Martin as black and as wearing a hoodie only in response to the 911 operator\u2019s questions about race and clothing.<\/p>\n

Zimmerman claims that NBC, in a much more egregious editing of the 911 call, falsely reported that he said \u201ccoons\u201d despite the official transcript having recorded it as \u201c[unintelligible].\u201d\u00a0 Zimmerman claims he said \u201cpunks\u201d while other interpretations have been \u201ccold,\u201d \u201ccourse,\u201d and \u201cgoons\u201d (short for a local Florida gang called the \u201cGoon Squad\u201d).<\/p>\n

Zimmerman\u2019s complaint alleges NBC \u201crecognized the extraordinary public damage caused by these manipulated edits, stating during their March 27, 2012 broadcast: \u2018[A]ll of this is igniting more demands for an arrest.\u2019\u201d Providing concrete details to the damage incurred by Zimmerman, the complaint alleges \u201cZimmerman has suffered greatly, with death threats, a bounty placed on his head, threats of capture, and a constant, genuine fear for his life resulting in his need to, among other things, live in hiding and wear a bullet proof vest. Zimmerman was even dismissed from his college because the school felt the death threats were dangerous to fellow students.\u201d He \u201chas also experienced various severe physical manifestations of his fear, anxiety and concern, including but not limited to, insomnia, nausea, and extreme anxiety.\u201d The facts alleged in the complaint appear to state viable claims under Florida law, and may result in significant damages.<\/p>\n

After internal investigation of the edited 911 call, the network president apologized to its viewers (not to Zimmerman), stating that airing edited versions was \u201ca mistake and not a deliberate act to misrepresent the phone call.\u201d However, NBC\u2019s attorney later stated \u201cthere is no legitimate basis for Zimmerman\u2019s claims,\u201d as NBC \u201cfairly and accurately reported about a news event that has captivated the nation.\u201d Left unexplained was how manipulation of audio tape egregious enough to be acknowledged as a mistake on national television could constitute fair and accurate reporting.<\/p>\n

NBC\u2019s alleged manipulation of Zimmerman\u2019s 911 call seems to exemplify a larger problem with the media, which seems ready \u2013 when a story appears capable of being elevated into a news event that can captivate the nation \u2013 to manipulate public perception through fear, emotion, and withholding of information.<\/p>\n

Zimmerman\u2019s trial itself was prompted by the media.\u00a0 He was not arrested until after the media released a poll claiming 75% of the public wanted an arrest. It was only after the poll\u2019s release that a special prosecutor was appointed to bring charges against Zimmerman.<\/p>\n

Once charges were brought, the media focused on Florida\u2019s \u201cStand Your Ground\u201d statute (Fla. Stat. \u00a7 776.013) as an underlying factor in Trayvon Martin\u2019s death. The statute broadens the right to self-defense to include areas outside one\u2019s home. A defendant can request a pretrial determination that the use of force was justifiable (Fla. Stat. \u00a7 776.032). If the judge so determines, the defendant acquires criminal and civil immunity for that use of force. Despite all the \u201cStand Your Ground\u201d scrutiny, Zimmerman never invoked the statute by requesting a pretrial determination. Nonetheless, those in the media with a gun control agenda used the events leading up to Zimmerman\u2019s trial to incite emotional responses by the public.<\/p>\n

The death of Trayvon Martin was also characterized as an egregious civil rights crime comparable to the murder of Emmett Till. Such a comparison is an injustice to Emmett Till\u2019s memory and the Civil Rights Movement. Martin was a 17-year-old self-described \u201cgangsta\u201d; his phone had text messages about drug use, fighting, and guns. He was not the 12-year-old in the picture used repeatedly by the media. It was later reported the reason Martin was in Sanford was because his mother kicked him out of her house following his third school suspension (for having a plastic bag containing traces of marijuana and a pipe). His first suspension was for truancy. The second suspension was for graffiti, and during a search of his bag, officials turned up women\u2019s jewelry and a burglary tool.<\/p>\n

Is Zimmerman racist for suspecting Martin to being up to no good when Martin was walking around in the rain looking at the houses in a gated community? Is a person not allowed to call 911 to report a suspicious person if that person has not yet committed a crime? The answers are no. The reason the public believes Zimmerman is racist is because of how the media chose to report the story. Zimmerman alleges that NBC cut out parts of his 911 call to make it look like he was focused on race. But he did not describe Martin\u2019s race or clothes until he was asked to do so by the 911 operator.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, NBC\u2019s response to Zimmerman\u2019s complaint included the claim that, were Zimmerman convicted of the second-degree murder charge, \u201cthat fact alone [would] constitute substantial evidence that the destruction of his reputation is the result of his own criminal conduct, and not of the broadcasts at issue which, like countless other news reports disseminated by media entities throughout the country, reported on the underlying events.\u201d This is interesting not because of Zimmerman\u2019s subsequent acquittal, but because it suggests that journalistic ethics can be held in abeyance in the presence of a tragedy.\u00a0 But the undisputed fact that Trayvon Martin\u2019s death was a tragedy does not justify or warrant media conduct in apparent disregard of Zimmerman\u2019s individual rights.<\/p>\n

Unlike lawyers, journalists are not bound by rules of evidence or civil procedure, and can make allegations without showing proof beyond a reasonable doubt (or even proof by a preponderance of the evidence). In trial by media, a person is guilty until proven innocent and, as Zimmerman\u2019s example shows, a courtroom acquittal may leave unaffected the public\u2019s perception of you once the media has deemed you guilty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now more than ever, journalism appears to be no longer about reporting facts or the search for truth, but instead about manipulating facts to maximize ratings. A case in point is the complaint George Zimmerman filed last December against NBC. The complaint alleges NBC\u2019s use of edited 911 audio, as part of its coverage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,30,76,122,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-civil-procedure","category-criminal-justice","category-media-journalism","category-public","category-race-and-the-law","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21119\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}