ABC Source: Juror B29 Interview Was Edited for Time Only

ABC was taking some heat on the Web Saturday for its interview with Juror 29, the only African American member of the George Zimmerman jury.

ABC's exclusive interview made headlines in papers across the country, like this in the Washington Post: Juror B29, ‘Maddy,’ says ‘Zimmerman got away with murder’.

But Slate published a story Friday suggesting that ABC had edited the interview "artfully" to make the transitions nearly seamless, with the result that the juror had been "manipulated and misrepresented."

By Late Friday, that Slate story was echoing around the Web on various sites, many with the headline: "Did ABC News Deceptively Edit Zimmerman Juror's Controversial Interview?"

There were also calls for ABC to release an unedited version of the interview. ABC declined comment, but a source on background stood up for the interview and its contents.

"The interview was edited for time only," said the source, "and the meaning is clear from the words coming out of the juror's mouth."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.