Fox News host Shep Smith made an on-air apology yesterday after the network falsely reported that a Baltimore police officer shot a fleeing black man, reported The Huffington Post. Fox News has a bad habit of reporting blatantly inaccurate things and having to apologize for it.
“What’s happened is we screwed up, is what it sounds like,” said Smith. “And what we have is nothing.”
“Theirs was an error that was honest and straightforward and our duty as journalists is not to make mistakes. And when we make mistakes, we are duty-bound to correct them immediately and as clearly as possible. So I’m now in correction mode, and we apparently were wrong.”
Smith apologized on behalf of Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin who said he saw a protester ran past his vehicle with an officer following. He further reported that the officer pulled his pistol and fired at the alleged assailant. Tobin said he “was getting ready to do a live shot for my shift. I was sitting in the car, scribbling on my notes for the next live shot, and he ran right in front of us.”
“I never saw the individual turn and do anything I would consider an aggressive act, but we did see the officer draw his weapon and I counted one gunshot,” Tobin continued.
This kind of knee-jerk reporting is dangerous, especially when related to the tense situation in Baltimore. Luckily, that report didn’t catch heavy wind and spread because no one knows what kind of damage that such a false report could do.
It seems that in a pathetic attempt to excite viewers and spike ratings, that hack Tobin overzealously reported false information to create more sensationalist news. This phony reporting is similar to when the network falsely reported on Muslim “no-go” zones in Europe. It’s poor, shoot-from-the-hip journalism.
However, we shouldn’t be fooled by Smith’s apology. He isn’t fighting to maintain some semblance of balance and thoughtfulness. His “reasonableness” is just as orchestrated as everything else on Fox News.
