A Fox News Channel anchor has apologised after the apparent suicide of a man was broadcast after a car chase was followed live in Arizona yesterday.
The anchor at the time, Shepard Smith, apologised to viewers after returning from a sudden commercial break. "That won't happen again on my watch, and I'm sorry," Smith said, clearly shaken by the images.
The episode spurred scrutiny of the network's tendency to broadcast car chases live during its daytime newscasts. A Fox spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment about whether the network would continue to show such chases.
Smith, on his newscast Studio B, followed the chase for a while, then switched to other news, including the violence in Syria, before returning to Arizona as the man being pursued pulled his car over.
"Looks like he's a little disoriented or something," Smith said as the man ran down a path. The man then stepped into a grassy area, pulled a gun out of his right pocket and put it to his head, apparently pulling the trigger, and then fell face down.
Smith was heard shouting repeatedly "get off it, get off it," as the video was on a five-second delay, a typical precaution when there is the possibility of violence or profanity. But the Fox control room did not cut away in time.
After the commercial break, Smith apologized at length. "We really messed up," he said. "And we're all very sorry. That didn't belong on TV."
Police said the man was found dead at the scene, it was reported.
In 1998, an episode in Los Angeles saw a man set his truck on fire on aand shoot himself with a shotgun. The scene was broadcast live by several Los Angeles television stations and the cable news channel MSNBC.
After that incident, some local stations apologised, put time delays on live coverage and instructed aerial cameramen to send back wide shots rather than close-ups during chases.
New York Times