Amid growing tensions between the media and ordinary Americans, ABC News issued an apology after its Nightline program took a quote from former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer out of context to make it appear critical of White House press secretary Sean Spicer.
“[Spicer’s] briefing made me uncomfortable. It was too truculent, too tough. It looks as if the ball was dropped on Saturday,” Nightline quoted Fleischer as saying.
Fleischer hopped onto Twitter Tuesday morning to set the record straight and complain about Nightline‘s purposeful editing.
@Nightline proves Spicer right about MSM's dedication to negativity. Here is what I told them in a taped interview: 1/4
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
"It looks to me if the ball was dropped on Saturday, Sean recovered it and ran for a 1st down on Monday." 2/4
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
Here is how they chopped my quote: "It looks to me if the ball was dropped on Saturday" after ABC referred to "deliberate falsehoods." 3/4
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
Fleischer concluded, “If this is how the press reports, Trump is right to go after them.”
ABC issued an official apology Tuesday afternoon.
“Nightline aired a segment Monday night about the first three days of the new administration including Sean Spicer’s statement to the press on Saturday,” the network’s statement said. “As part of the report, we interviewed former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. In editing the piece for air, his quote was shortened and as a result his opinions mischaracterized. We are fixing the piece online to include his full quote and context. We apologize and regret the error.”
Debate concerning media credibility and bias was brought to the forefront during Trump’s rise to the presidency.
On Monday’s debut of Fox News Channel’s The First 100 Days, Fleischer explained to host Martha MacCallum why so many people are frustrated with the current situation.
He labeled the media’s coverage over the last eight years as “soft” and criticized journalists for suddenly wanting to “change their tune.”
Fleischer also offered a bit of advice to Spicer, cautioning the current press secretary about the numerous pitfalls trying to outdo the media in concrete figures.
Referring to Spicer’s comments on crowds at the inauguration, Fleischer told Fox News, “As soon as a press secretary gets into statistics and facts, the press is going to fact-check the press secretary. So don’t use a fact, don’t use a stat, unless you’re 100-percent certain you’ve got it nailed down.”
What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.
The post ABC Apologizes After Deceptively Editing Former Bush Spokesman’s Comments appeared first on Open Mind Magazine.