A Chicago television station is being blasted by civil rights leaders and news media professionals for airing edited video of a 4-year-old boy that took his statements out of context, violating the basics of journalism ethics.
The Maynard Institute published a
story on July 21 detailing how Chicago CBS station
WBBM ran a story about the June 29 shooting of two teenagers in the Park Manor neighborhood.
A freelance photographer interviewed the youngster about whether the shooting frightened him. The station aired the portion of the interview in which the boy responded by saying he was not afraid and wanted his own gun.
However, it failed to air the portion of the child’s quote in which he said he wanted a gun because he planned to be a police officer.
