Shep Smith Apologizes For Fox News Airing Apparent Suicide Live: 'We Really Messed Up'
Posted: 9/28/2012 | By: Rebecca Shapiro | The Huffington Post
A shaken Shep Smith apologized to Fox News viewers after the network failed to cut away from live video of a carjacker shooting himself in the head in an apparent suicide.
Throughout Smith's 3:00 p.m. show, the network cut to and from a chase near Phoenix, Arizona. The carjacker eventually stepped out of his car and began running. Smith narrated the man's exit from vehicle and on-the-ground movements, until suddenly, viewers watched the man pull out a gun and shoot himself. The camera cut to Smith yelling to his control room, "Get off it. Get off it. Get off it!" The show abruptly cut to a commercial, but it was already too late.
Throughout Smith's 3:00 p.m. show, the network cut to and from a chase near Phoenix, Arizona. The carjacker eventually stepped out of his car and began running. Smith narrated the man's exit from vehicle and on-the-ground movements, until suddenly, viewers watched the man pull out a gun and shoot himself. The camera cut to Smith yelling to his control room, "Get off it. Get off it. Get off it!" The show abruptly cut to a commercial, but it was already too late.