Obama Depicted as Rape Suspect in Fox 5 News Graphic Error
by Ken Stone
In a stroke of Friday the 13th bad luck, Fox 5 San Diego briefly portrayed President Obama as a sex-assault suspect on its 10 o’clock news.
At 10:04 p.m., viewers heard anchor Kathleen Bade say: “The only suspect in a sex assault at SDSU will not be charged.” At the same time, a picture of Obama appeared with the legend “NO CHARGES.”
The Obama shot lasted about 5 seconds, but it was noticed immediately in the newsroom, said Mike Wille, an assignment editor.
“Yeah, there was an accident when they had an over-the-shoulder” display, Wille told Times of San Diego. “It wasn’t on purpose.”
The news continued for 56 minutes, ending at 11 p.m.
Asked why there was no on-air acknowledgment or apology for the error, Wille said: “They really don’t do that when it’s a small thing like that.”
Wille wasn’t sure when Bade was made aware of the errant Obama image, which appeared during a report on the District Attorney’s Office deciding not to file charges against 20-year-old Francisco Sousa because the evidence was weak.
Emmy Award-winner Bade has been the primetime anchor at Fox 5 San Diego, KSWB-TV, since the station’s launch in 2008, according to her online profile.
Wille said no calls were received during the newscast about the Obama picture.
This article is reprinted from The Times of San Diego which, along with The Moderate Voice, is a member of the San Diego Online News Association.