HUFFINGTON POST: …NBC had initially announced the interview without saying who had conducted it. By Sunday, though, other outlets learned that the interview was actually an excerpt from a film by Ziegler called “The Framing of Joe Paterno.” (Ziegler is also famous for making a 2009 film that was heavily supportive of Sarah Palin.) In a post on Sunday, TVNewser said that NBC’s initial statement “probably leaves readers with the impression that NBC journalists were involved, even though it technically never says NBC conducted the interview.”
Ziegler’s main focus is what he describes as the railroading of Paterno, the late Penn State coach who was accused by the official Freeh Report of having worked to cover up Sandusky’s child abuse. But, along the way, he called the legal case against Sandusky “remarkably weak” at points in the investigation, and said that a sexual assault that assistant coach Mike McQueary reported seeing was actually a “botched ‘grooming.'” …
“The Today Show to Air Jerry Sandusky Interview Filmed by Penn State Truther,” Gawker’s headline blared. “NBC To Air ‘Interview’ Of Sandusky By Man Who Called The Case Against The Convicted Child Rapist ‘Remarkably Weak’” was the take from Think Progress. Even Paterno’s own family spoke out against Ziegler’s interview, calling it a “sad and unfortunate development” and “an insult to the victims and anyone who cares about the truth in this tragic story.” … (more)
