NBC News Gaffe

For those who don't know, Chris Christie is the current governor of New Jersey. While technically a Republican, Christie crosses party lines enough to be the governor of a historically democrat voting state, and to have the support of most of it's residents. However, last year we first heard about what's now known as the 'Bridgegate' scandal, wherein Christie surrogates purportedly orchestrated the closing of 2 lanes on the George Washington bridge because the mayor of that county didn't support Christie's reelection bid. I believe that Christie is innocent in this scandal, but there are always some who'll take any opportunity to slander those in power. Christie is also considered a serious contender for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016, so anything newsworthy about him, especially this scandal, is very controversial to report on. With all controversial issues, it's absolutely critical to get all the facts right, which NBC news failed to do last Thursday, the 18th of September.

In their nightly newscast, anchor Brian Williams said that "federal charges are now ruled out for Chris Christie in the affair that came to be known as 'Bridgegate.'" Federal prosecutors say that the investigation is still ongoing, and that while there is currently no incriminating evidence linking Christie with the scandal, charges have not yet been ruled out. A serious gaffe, to be sure, but NBC chose the right response and quickly admitted the mistake. Had NBC ignored or denied their mistake in reporting, the consequences could have been serious, such as a decline in viewer's trust of the network. By owning up to their mistake and sticking to the truth, NBC has shown that they are a network that can be trusted; that even when they make mistakes, which is a trait of all humans, they can be trusted to fix them. The way NBC handled the situation should be a lesson in honesty; that the truth always works.

Here's a link to the full article about it: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/19/christie-george-washington-bridge-closure-report/15885679/

What do you think about NBC's mistake and how they handled it? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.