NBC told the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple Saturday that it would investigate an incident in which the “Today” show used an abridged recording of George Zimmerman’s 911 call before he killed Trayvon Martin. The version used by NBC emphasized race as a factor in the incident.
NBC’s version of the call sounded like this:
Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.
But as Fox News and NewsBusters discovered, the actual conversation went like this:
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 — is he black, white or Hispanic?
Zimmerman: He looks black.
Wemple called NBC’s abridged version “high editorial malpractice well worthy of the investigation that NBC is now mounting.”
