Journalists have to be careful – new software can alter, shape and change reality

Jul 23, 2010 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
It was a really eventful week for journalism in the US when an altered recording of a speech delivered in 1986 by Mrs. Shirley Sherrod was aired on Fox News sparking racial outrage among white conservative Americans and the call for the subsequent resignation of Mrs. Sherrod.
The video clip was posted by Mr. Andrew Breitbart as part of his feud with the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), the civil rights organisation, on behalf of the new Tea Party movement. Following recent charges of racism by the civil rights organisation against Tea Party activists, Breitbart was eager to prove that individuals associated with the NAACP were guilty of anti-white racism.
For those of you who do not know who is Mrs. Sherrod, she is a black agriculture administrator who has worked extensively in the field of agribusiness development and who up to the airing of this altered recording was employed by the USDA.
Personally Mrs. Sherrod is a highly respected black woman in American society whose character is unblemished. When the clip was aired, it must have certainly surprised some of the people who would have interacted with Mrs. Sherrod and benefited from the policies she helped to frame and implement.
On the clip aired by Fox News, Mrs Sherrod appears to have said that in 1986 she did not give a Georgia farmer all the assistance she could to save his farm because black farmers were losing their land and he was white. The truth of the matter is that the clip Fox showed was a part of an anecdote Mrs. Sherrod was giving in a speech that dealt with affirmative policies for poverty alleviation of all framers be they black or white. Mrs. Sherrod said the video, which was first posted on a conservative website; lacked context and that it was part of a larger story about learning from her mistakes and racial reconciliation, not racism. She was not even working for the USDA at the time but for a charitable organisation helping farmers. But Fox didn’t care about the background issues. The part that was aired was chosen mischievously and it generated the desired effect. Condemnation came from all corners included the NAACP. Mrs. Sherrod became an enemy of the state.
“They asked me to resign. And, in fact, they harassed me as I was driving back to the state office from West Point, Georgia. I had at least three calls telling me the White House wanted me to resign…And the last one asked me to pull over to the side of the road and do it.” Those were the words of Mrs. Sherrod on CNN.
What I find ridiculous is the unprofessional and reckless way the White House played into the trap set by Fox News by firing Mrs. Sherrod. White House officials never bothered to investigate the truth; they just acted wildly. The
mischievous hype generated by Fox News and their apologists again placed the White House in a very awkward position. I cannot believe that leading administrators in the White House could still make such reckless life changing decisions based on insufficient evidence; we all know of the weapons of mass destruction that justified the war in Iraq.
Embarrassment followed after CNN interviewed Mrs. Sherrod and the wife of a dead white farmer who spoke glowingly about how wonderful a person Sherrod has been. She detailed how many white farmers like her husband have benefited from the work she (Sherrod) did for them which left the world speechless. Not only did it vindicate Mrs. Sherrod, but highlighted the unprofessional conduct of the White House, NAACP, and of course Fox News. Shirley Sherrod was exonerated when the full video, which surfaced on Tuesday (20-07-10), was repeatedly played by leading media houses. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs of course sheepishly apologised and said that the apology reflected “the feelings” of President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has offered Mrs Sherrod a new position.
Is that all? An apology and a new position and life is good after that? There needs to be some serious sanctions against Fox News and Breitbart for deliberately causing the character of Mrs. Sherrod to be brought into disrepute. The White House itself needs to share a lot of that blame!
These are early days yet. We will have to wait and see what would follow this unethical display of journalism.
In the mean time media personnel, officials and the public in general need to be wary of what they see and hear as news. With photography altering software and loads of audio visual software that can splice and alter content widely available and accessible, one has to be extra careful before believing what is seen and heard.
New software can alter, shape and change reality, but the time honored rules of journalism have not changed. Journalists still need to check their facts and check their sources.
Richard Francois

---

---