This story explains why the culture of "news now" journalism has got to stop. This woman was pressured by the White House to resign, because of "edited" clips. No one would listen to her side of the story until after she was actually kicked out of her job.
And this makes Breitbart look bad. The NAACP acted precipitously (stupidly, one might say, or was that Obama?) but one would like to know where Breitbart got the clips and whether they were edited before Breitbart even saw them.
But on the heels of this, will people believe it when any other "damaging" video or audio comes out, or will they merely think it has been cobbled together to smear the left? On the other hand, if any video or audio comes out damaging to the right...will that be believed also, or will they also now get the same benefit of the doubt?
NAACP Retracts Criticism of Shirley Sherrod After Viewing Full Video of
David Knowles - Writer
AOL News Surge Desk (July 20) -- Just another day in the annals of gotcha journalism?
Shirley Sherrod, a Georgia regional director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was pressured to resign Tuesday after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted edited clips of a speech of hers on his website, Big Government, drawing criticism from various individuals and organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
After watching the full, unedited tape of remarks delivered by Sherrod, however, the NAACP now says that it was "snookered" into casting judgment on Sherrod, and has officially retracted its criticism of her, fulfilling an earlier Surge Desk prediction. In a further bitter irony, Sherrod was actually speaking at an NAACP event.
"Next time we are confronted by a racial controversy broken by Fox News or their allies in the Tea Party like Mr. Breitbart, we will consider the source and be more deliberate in responding," NAACP President Ben Jealous said in a statement released late Tuesday.
Initially, the NAACP said it was "appalled" by the video that appeared to show Sherrod, who is African-American, telling an audience how she refused to fully aid a farmer from losing his home because he was white. But Sherrod had always claimed that the story she was telling was an anecdote, and that the incident in question happened 20 years before she was employed by the USDA.
In the full video, the NAACP said, Sherrod makes clear that her former actions led her to a moment of revelation that skin color should not be an issue. In portions not aired by Breitbart or other media outlets, Sherrod goes on to say, "It's not just about black people, it's about poor people. We have to get to the point where race exists but it doesn't matter."
"Having reviewed the full take," the NAACP statement read, "spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe that the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans."
Breitbart said he simply posted the clips as he received them, already edited. But by late Monday night, the story had legs and the damage was done, and the USDA, under mounting political pressure, asked for Sherrod's resignation.
Earlier in the day, Eloise Spooner, the wife of the farmer mentioned in Sherrod's story, spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she vigorously defended Sherrod, saying that her actions help the couple hold onto their farm.
It remains to be seen whether the USDA will reconsider asking for Sherrod's resignation. For now, she remains fresh out of a job.
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