NBC apologizes for editing 911 tape (updated)

NBC apologized for what it termed its "error" in selectively editing a 911 tape that made Trayvon Martin's killer sound like he had racial motivations for the shooting.

Here's the relevant part of the recording. First, what NBC edited and aired:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black.

And here is the full transcript of that exchange:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about.

Dispatcher: OK, and this guy -- is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

NBC's statement:

During our investigation it became evident that there was an error made in the production process that we deeply regret. We will be taking the necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future and apologize to our viewers.

An "error in the production process?" Is that the way to describe an outright lie? What exactly was the error? Who made it?

It is impossible to imagine this "error" being an innocent mistake. But that, apparently, is how NBC wants us to see it.

Update from Thomas Lifson (hat tip: Errol Phillips):

Ben Shapiro of Breitbart lays out the case that Brian Williams is ultimately responsible:

Williams has been, since 2004, the managing editor of NBC News. And this was no mistake. It was a purposeful attempt to drive the narrative against Zimmerman. It is Williams' job to see that the facts are reported rather than skewed. And the buck stops with him.

This is no isolated incident for Williams. He's an ardent leftist who began his career by interning for Jimmy Carter. When Williams moderated a Republican debate in September 2011, he asked Rick Perry how he could sleep at night while implementing the death penalty as governor of Texas. After September 11, he implied that America's "military swagger" provided the impetus for the attacks. He compared the bombing of Iraq to the U.S. military bombing of Japan in its indiscriminateness.

Williams once explained, "[NBC News has an] inordinate number of editors. Every word I write, before it goes on air, goes through all kinds of traps and filters, and it's read by all kind of different people who point out bias." He's at the top of that food chain. And it's his news department that helped ratchet up the Trayvon Martin story to the point of violence.