“I’m going to have me a gun!”
A news clip of a distorted interview with a young black boy has raised questions about ethics in journalism in America because his interview was deliberately edited to make him look more like a gangster.
The story aired on June 30, as part of a package about overnight violence around Chicago. It first describes the lethal shooting of 16-year-old, and then adds: “Kids on the street as young as four were there to see it all unfold, and had disturbing reactions.” This is leads into a video of an interview with said four-year-old boy. Responding to a news reporter’s question about what he’d like to be when he grows up, the boy replied: “I’m going to have me a gun! I’m going to be the police!” But the second part of that sentence never made it to TV, and all that was heard from the boy’s mouth was this:
Reporter: “Boy, you ain’t scared of nothing! Damn! When you get older are you going to stay away from all these guns?”
Boy: “No.”
Reporter: “No? What are you going to do when you get older?”
Boy: “I’m going to have me a gun!”
Here’s the part that was not aired:
Reporter” “You are! Why do you want to do that?”
Boy: “I’m going to be the police!
See the full clip here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1sMwsVuX6A
And that, folks, is what’s known as taking artistic license.
[Source: Business Insider]
