The corporate media hit a new and disgusting low today by destroying a crime scene in the San Bernardino shooting all in the hopes of capturing one sensational scoop.
MSNBC, CNN, the BBC, ITV and CBS News all aired reports live from inside the apartment where the shooters lived after they claimed that the owner of the property invited the media in and gave them access to a crime scene.
CNN crime analyst Harry Houck explaining how the media destroyed a crime scene:
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Houck said:
I’m having chills down my spine what I’m seeing here. This apartment clearly is full of evidence. I don’t see any fingerprint dust on the walls where they went in there and checked for fingerprints of other people who might have been connected with these two. You’ve got documents laying all over the place. You’ve got shredded documents that need to be taken out of there and put together to see what was shredded. You’ve got passports. You’ve got drivers licenses. Now you have thousands of fingerprints all over inside this crime scene. There should have been some crime scene tape up there. Usually in an instance like this, crime scene goes in, does the work, and comes out. You still keep that scene locked up, and with a sign on board saying you can’t come in until the police release it. The fact is maybe they did not do that here.
….
Now we have it looks like dozens of people in these destroying crime scene, which is still vital to this investigation….If the police are watching this right now they better be on their way down there to stop this from happening. This is. I am shaking over it. That’s how irresponsible this is by law enforcement for letting this happen.
Some journalists like CNN’s Anderson Cooper and MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell commented on how strange and bizarre the scene of journalists acting like a pack of wild animals while trashing a crime scene was, but it was also completely irresponsible behavior from an American mainstream media that values sensationalism over all else.
The media destroyed evidence of a potential act of terror, and here is what they found:
A screwdriver (the Tweet says popsicle, but it is really a screwdriver):
Someone stole a popsicle it's like a SNL skit already pic.twitter.com/k6RhIKhXvq
— Eric Bartoszak (@Eric_Bartoszak) December 4, 2015
baby toys:
This is what rock bottom of journalism looks like
#SanBernadino pic.twitter.com/gzS6zPZBxb
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) December 4, 2015
MSNBC got into the apartment first and was deemed the most reckless by showing close-ups of family photos and IDs:
MSNBC got in first and was most reckless, with so many close-up shots of family photos (including children) and IDs. pic.twitter.com/OCQaf84LL0
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) December 4, 2015
MSNBC outed the identities and personal information of possibly innocent people on national television.
The whole scene was appalling and represented the very worst in mainstream journalism.
The media claims that the owner of the apartment allowed them to come in, but the landlord claims that he opened the door, and the media rushed in behind him.
CNN is claiming that law enforcement showed up and escorted the landlord away:
CNN reporters outside San Bernardino killers' home says landlord was escorted away by law enforcement, put into unmarked vehicle
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) December 4, 2015
In a mainstream press that has become nothing but an endless series of lowlights, today’s fiasco is the lowest of the low.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
