MSNBC (Chris Matthews) Apologizes to Romney Campaign for Klan Report ("we really do")

NY Times ^ | 12/14/11 | BRIAN STELTER

[Libloather]

MSNBC Apologizes to Romney Campaign for Klan Report
By BRIAN STELTER
December 14, 2011, 8:42 pm

Blaming its own staff for an “appalling lack of judgment,” MSNBC apologized on Wednesday for reporting that a phrase used by Mitt Romney on the campaign stump was used in the past by the Ku Klux Klan.

The brief report during the 11 a.m. hour on MSNBC triggered internal turmoil at the cable news network, which is linked to NBC News, the home of the “Today” show and “NBC Nightly News.” It also prompted a call from a Romney campaign representative to “alert them of the misreporting,” a campaign spokeswoman said in an email message.

The MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews, who was not involved with the original report, read an apology to the Romney campaign during his 5 p.m. program, “Hardball.”

The network, Mr. Matthews said, “reported on a blog item that compared a phrase used by the Romney campaign to one used by the K.K.K. way back in the 1920s. It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this, and it showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign.”

[Libloather]

Maybe this so-called network should pay more attention to the rookie Hussein.

[petercooper]

That's why Rush calls them the drive-by media. Tell an outright lie, get some sheeple to believe it as fact, move on, rinse, repeat. Media is liberal scum.

[Vaquero]

Chrissy uses his leg tingles as a kind of weegee board to write his news ‘script’.

[hometoroost]

"it showed an appalling lack of judgement"

In other words, it fit right in with the rest of his program.

[commish]

MAke no mistake - this was a PLANNED report and PLANNED apology. THey are INOCCULATING Obama for when he makes blatant COMMUNIST statements - now they have set the precedent that showing a comment is the same as one made in the past by someone ‘Evil’ is not acceptable.

[Texas Fossil]

MSNBC (aka Comcast/GE)

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

This is just a warm-up to what is to come in 2012. As their evil worlds are threatened they will do ANYTHING to preserve their power and influence. Including moving strongly to silence web based opposition.

Companies like this deserve to fail. They are huge failures in ever aspect except profitability. They do not serve the public interest in any stretch of the imagination.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Laughable.

[mmichaels1970]

The network, Mr. Matthews said, “reported on a blog item that compared a phrase used

That's no flipping apology! These people are just rotten, terrible, commie pinko scum sucking marxist propagandist a-holes. How do they sleep at night?

[mmichaels1970]

Companies like this deserve to fail.

Amen.

[jimfree]

In this case they did not simply drive by. I’m impressed by the apology. I will be more impressed if the original reporter recants as well.

[MichaelP]

So, who did they fire?

Mike

[izzatzo]

By issuing this apology, they are simply trying to prop Mitt up in the primaries, i.e., if Mitt is worthy of an apology from MSNBC, that should make him a more capable/worthy candidate in the eyes of GOP primary voters. IOW, had they said this about Michelle or any of the balance of candidates, I daresay they would not have issued an apology.