"Britain's BBC is reeling this week following the resignations of its director-general, Tim Davie, and news chief Deborah Turness amid accusations of bias in the editing of last year's documentary, "Trump: A Second Chance." The BBC admitted filmmakers spliced together quotes from different sections of the speech Trump made before the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol to make it seem like he was directly urging violence."
"In a different time, the BBC episode would likely have led to a quick admission of a mistake, a correction, apology and everyone would have moved on, said Mark Lukasiewicz, a former NBC News executive and now dean of Hofstra University's School of Communication. "But in an era where every editing decision taken in a newsroom is now under a microscope and can be weaponized for political purposes," he said, "it's got to be something that is causing real caution in newsrooms all over the world now.""
"Editing decisions were once largely behind the scenes Questioning edits is another tool for the president to strike back at journalists who displease him. He has restricted access by The Associated Press after its decision not to follow his lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico, sued outlets like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and stripped funding for public broadcasting because he doesn't like its n"
Editing of broadcast footage has produced major institutional consequences across several news organizations. A BBC documentary spliced quotes from different sections of Donald Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 speech to create the appearance that he directly urged violence, prompting resignations of the director-general and news chief. A separate CBS edit resulted in a $16 million settlement after a sued "60 Minutes" interview, and complaints about a "Face the Nation" segment led to a policy change. Editing decisions now face intense public and political scrutiny, and newsrooms are exercising greater caution because such choices can be weaponized.
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