Zimmerman defamation case against NBC has come to a close. A Florida judge has ruled unfavourably with Zimmerman defamation case against NBC.
According to USA Today, the Zimmerman defamation case against NBC which was dismissed Monday, involved a lawsuit that seeked damages from NBC for allegedly depicting the neighborhood watch volunteer as racist in a consecutive news reports of the death of teenager Trayvon Martin due to a shooting incident.
In the judge ruling of the Zimmerman defamation case against NBC, the judge said that Zimmerman failed to show that the network acted with spite in a newscast involving his July 2013 trial on charges of murdering a 17-year-old boy.
According to an Associated Press story, the Judge, Debra Nelson, defended the malice standard in the Zimmerman defamation case against NBC because Zimmerman became already became a public figure after he shot Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., in February 2012. Nelson reportedly ruled that Zimmerman 'voluntarily injected his views into the public controversy surrounding race relations and public safety in Sanford and pursued a course of conduct that ultimately led to the death of Martin and the specific controversy surrounding it.'
the Orlando Sentinel reports that the circuit judge also ruled in the Zimmerman defamation case against NBC that Zimmerman will not be entitled to any money from NBC.
MyNews13.com tweeted Nelson's decision on the Zimmerman defamation case against NBC. She said that Zimmerman's suit is already done unless the ruling is reversed by an appeals court.
Meanwhile, an NBC spokesperson expressed the network's satisfaction with the judge's decision on the Zimmerman defamation case against NBC. The spokesperson issued a statement saying that the media giant is 'gratified by the court's dismissal of this lawsuit, which we have always believed to be without merit.'
In 2013, Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter with the shooting death of Martin in 2012 inside a gated community in Florida. The Zimmerman defamation case against NBC began as Zimmerman accused NBC News of insulting him as they allegedly broadcasted edited clips of his 911 that night of the Martin's death.
According to USA Today, the clips allegedly portrayed Zimmerman saying that the teenager was black and even racially profiled him. In 2012, Zimmerman defamation case against NBC after Zimmerman sued NBC Universal for practicing "yellow journalism."
Below is an excerpt of the Feb. 26, 2012 call that Zimmerman made:
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."
911 dispatcher: "OK, and this guy - is he black, white or Hispanic?"
Zimmerman: "He looks black."
MyNews13 reports that NBC's edited version of the call was trimmed so that Zimmerman appeared to have only said, 'This guy looks like he's up to no good ... He looks black.'
Zimmerman defamation case against NBC resulted in at least two employees getting fired after editing the clips. According to the Sentinel, NBC News also publicly apologized because of the incident.
See The Associated Press for the full story of Zimmerman defamation case against NBC.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
