The acquittal of George Zimmerman allowed him to pursue his case against news network NBC News for the mis-editing of this police call prior to the shooting. The Neighborhood Watch volunteer captain sued NBC Universal Media for defamation last December.
The news program cut a majority of Zimmerman's initial call to the police. According the "Today" broadcast in March 27, 2012, Zimmerman's said to the police, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."
In actuality, the acquitted man said "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."
The dispatcher on the other end then responded with a question. "OK, and this guy - is he black, white or Hispanic?" Zimmerman said "He looks black," the statement that made its way on national TV.
According to Zimmerman's lawyer James Beasley, the case against NBC was stayed awaiting the murder trial's outcome.
The mis-editing was said to be a sensationalist plot to gain increased ratings for the program. The news programming industry is a very competitive sector, fighting for ratings which translate to commercial profit.
Join the Conversation