NBC Investigating Edited 911 Call From Night Trayvon Martin Died

The "Today" show version made shooter George Zimmerman appear to be engaged in racial profiling.

NBC News said Saturday it is investigating why its Today show broadcast an edited version of the 911 call placed by George Zimmerman the night he shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

Both Today and MSNBC have broadcast an edited version of the call, which makes Zimmerman sound as if he were engaged in racial profiling.

"We have launched an internal investigation into the editorial process surrounding this particular story," a spokeswoman for Today told THR Saturday.

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Last week, Today aired a segment that included Zimmerman's call as follows: "This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black."

Today didn't inform its audience it had edited out the middle of the 911 call, which in reality went like this:

Zimmerman: "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."

911 operator: "Okay. And this guy, is he white black or Hispanic?"

Zimmerman: "He looks black."

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Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity aired the Today segment and excoriated NBC for its editing of the call. He characterized it as an attempt to inflame racial tensions in an already controversial case.

On Friday, THR reported the incident and the Fox video went viral after it was posted on the Drudge Report and several other political sites, such as Real Clear Politics.

Email: paul.bond@thr.com