Fox tries a second take on apology for mistaking black Congressman with indicted colleague

Michael Roston

Published: Wednesday June 6, 2007 Print This Email This

Fox News's Martha MacCallum did a second take of her apology to Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) for mixing him up with indicted Louisiana Democrat William Jefferson in a Monday afternoon broadcast.

"In error, we aired some video of Congressman John Conyers...we in no way meant to suggest that there was any connection between the Jefferson indictment and Congressman Conyers," she said.

The Live Desk host's 30-second apology for confusing Conyers with another African-American lawmaker came after an 8-second clip on Tuesday afternoon in which MacCallum failed to explain the particular error her production team had made.

RAW STORY reported on Conyers' angry response to the first apology on Tuesday.

"This type of disrespect for people of color should no longer be tolerated. I am personally offended by the network's complete disregard for accuracy in reporting and lackluster on-air apology," said Conyers, the veteran lawmaker who is Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The video Fox News played in the Monday segment on Jefferson showed Conyers greeting Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at a May 10 hearing on the firing of 8 US Attorneys.

Fox pinned the error on a young staff member in an Associated Press report Tuesday night.

"Fox blamed the mistake on a 22-year-old production assistant hurriedly grabbing a wrong videotape. Fox's Washington bureau chief, Brian Wilson, said he was mortified by the error," the news service reported.

As Fox News offered its second apology, groups criticizing the Congressional Black Caucus for cooperating with the network on sponsoring a Democratic presidential debate before the 2008 primaries seized on the Monday gaffe as evidence that the network was racially insensitive.

"We applaud Chairman Conyers for calling attention to Foxs history of marginalizing and denigrating black Americans," said James Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. "Today, were calling other CBC members to stand with Congressman Conyers and denounce Fox, a network that has called black churches cults, implied repeatedly that Senator Obama is a terrorist, and has used the solemn occasion of Coretta Scott Kings funeral to call black leaders 'racist.'"

The video clip of MacCallum's second apology is below.

#



