When The Daily Caller released tapes last week showing NPR executive Ron Schiller calling the Tea Party "racist," he quickly resigned; NPR's CEO was ousted soon after. But the 11-minute snippet of Schiller footage, released by serial prankster James O'Keefe, was clipped from a two-hour conversation. And when editors at Glenn Beck's conservative website The Blaze — an unlikely NPR ally — looked at the tape's full context, they found Schiller's remarks, while still objectionable, less inflamatory than once thought. Did O'Keefe use deceptive cutting to make Schiller seem extra-extreme?
The context was left on the cutting room floor: Even if you approve of undercover reporting, says Scott Baker at The Blaze, "editing tactics that seem designed to intentionally lie or mislead" cross the line. For instance, when Schiller labels Tea Partiers "seriously racist people" — one of the tape's most publicized statements — it sounds as if he's voicing his own opinion. But, as the raw footage reveals, "he is largely recounting the views expressed to him by two top Republicans." This doesn't excuse Schiller, but it sheds more light on the situation.
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