The local Fox affiliate fired two staffers in the wake of a Dec. 21 story in which protesters’ chants were edited to sound like “Kill a Cop,” but no one in a leadership role lost their job.
According to FTVLive.com, reporter Melinda Roeder and a photographer were fired for the story, which aired on the night after two New York City police officers were killed by a man who was linked to a Baltimore County shooting.
C-Span footage of the D.C. protest, which was lead by local activist Tawanda Jones, was doctored to make it sound like the marchers were chanting, “Kill a Cop!” In reality, they were chanting, “We won’t stop. We can’t stop. ‘Til killer cops are in cell blocks.”
After the story about the story gained national attention, Fox45 apologized. Now, it seems they’ve decided to inflict internal punishment, but one important player in the story seems to have been spared. FTVLive’s Scott Jones reports that the story came directly from News Director Mike Tomko, who got a one-day suspension in connection with the incident.
