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| Fox's Mike Tobin |
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith apologized on-air Monday afternoon after his colleague Mike Tobin erroneously claimed to have witnessed a Baltimore police officer shoot a black man in the street.
Shortly after 2:45 p.m. ET, Tobin called into Fox News’ The Real Story and told host Gretchen Carlson that he saw police officers chasing a man, and “as he was running away, that police officer drew his weapon and fired and struck the individual who was running away.”
Video showed the allegedly wounded man cuffed and being removed from the scene on a gurney, while an officer stood over a six-shooter on the sidewalk and colleagues secured the area with pepper spray guns.
However as it turns out there was no shooting, and the Baltimore police moved quickly to shut down the rumors before they could begin to circulate.
The reports of a man being shot at North and Pennsylvania Ave are NOT true. Officers have arrested a man for a handgun at the location
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) May 4, 2015
And so, on live television, about half-an-hour later, Tobin back-tracked on his story, telling Smith that he had only heard a single gunshot, and did not actually see anyone fire a weapon. There was a row of parked cars between him and the scene, he admitted. The final nail in this story’s coffin came when on-the-ground reporter Leland Vittert caught up with a white-shirted officer (lieutenant or above in ranking), who definitively stated that there was no actual shooting victim. Police arrested the man for possessing the aforementioned revolver, and the gunshot noise was from when the man dropped the weapon.
So in response poor Shep Smith, possibly the only reasonable on air personality still at Fox News, had to do this:
Leave it to Fox News to invent a story of the police shooting a black man in the back, right after the city of Baltimore finally calms down after rioting over the actual death of a black man at the hands of the police.
Boy that is some good journalism.
Oops, we almost started a riot.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how often in history this situation happens though. Read about Haymarket Square in the 1880s, Wounded Knee in the 1890s. No one could ever decide how it started, who shot first, whether a certain shot occurred.
Fox, if it cares, might want to keep Mike Tobin away from street stories where what is actually happening is important.
ReplyDeleteAnd still Shep stays with them. The question is why. Why does he sell his soul, (I believe he is the only one working there with one), to work there. I think he could get a job working somewhere else. I think he has a modicum of integrity. Shep. Leave now. There is light at the end of the tunnel. You can do it!
So, this "reporter" wants to be the NEW Bull O'Really? Why did they apologise, isn't lying and claiming to be on the scene the way to become a star on Faux?
ReplyDeleteO/T but here's some great news!
ReplyDeleteAmericans Flock To Bernie As Sanders Announces 175,000 Volunteers For Presidential Bid
...Sanders made the announcement on The Rachel Maddow Show, “I had the feeling, Rachel that there was a strong undercurrent of support, and when we announced on Thursday, we sent out an email on website berniesanders.com. We got 35,000 responses in terms of contributions, and 100,000 people indicated on the first day alone that they wanted to sign up and work on the campaign, and those numbers have gone up in the last few days. I feel really good about that.”
Maddow asked, “You have 100,000 people who have pledged to volunteer on the campaign already?”
Sanders answered, “No, actually, we have 175,000.”
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/05/05/americans-flock-bernie-sanders-announces-175000-volunteers-presidential-bid.html
I saw that on TRMS last evening (Monday)...love Bernie and Rachel! Many thanks to her for having him on her show right away.
DeleteOT, this just in, Huckabee hops in to The Clown Car!
ReplyDeleteI saw on NBC (half paying attention) that his first campaign ad airing only in the south starts out with something about rednecks in bars.
DeleteIs this what the GOP has come down to?
Maybe, everyone has learned to lie like sp pos.
ReplyDeletemethinks Shep & Megyn should partner up. They would be the most awesome news/opinion team in the nation and could write their own ticket.
ReplyDeleteAnd Fox isn't firing someone for making a volatile situation worse? The drool rag users who watch FOX believe every word.
ReplyDeleteGotta give a little credit, Sheperd Smith is pretty damn close to being a halfway decent news reader.
OT one of our clients got her photo taken in NYC with GVS. I must say, without makeup, she's the stuff of a Steven King nightmare. Why did she do that to her face? She looks hideous!