Fox News...catches suicide...live

**Banjo** 2012-09-28, 16:16

About 1 1/2 hours ago they inadvertently showed a gun suicide live. Shepard Smith who was hosting that segment, yelled ,"get off !" over and over , thinking that what he saw on his monitor was still going out to the audience. But the control room had already cut the audience feed but just after the guy put the gun to his head, fired, and pitched forward.

It had been a car jacking and high speed chase on I-10 west of Phoenix. Fox News likes to cover these, of course they usually happen around LA and the perp eventually stops and runs for it and the cops tackle him and that's the end of it.

This time the news copter followed him at 100 mph out I-10 and Fox covered it for 15-20 min. until Smith says nothing is happening but we'll let you know of any developments, then they went to commercial.

When they came back the car had stopped west of Tonopah, which is 40-50 miles west of Phoenix, and the driver turned off onto a dirt trail and drove down into a brushy area . He stopped and got out and looked back toward the highway to see if the cops were close. Smith said, "I don't have a good feeling about this". The news copter was still right over him, he didn't seem to notice. They may have had one of those new Steadi-cams. that allows long range viewing while still keeping the picture steady and clear.

The cars owner wasn't with him which Smith was relieved to see. The guy starts running down the dirt trail, fell down once, got up, kept looking back, then turned into some brush and behind a tree, The Copter had swung around and we still had a clear , steady picture. Then all of a sudden the guy raises his hand to his head and a gun was visible.....no audio, or any graphic indication of the shot, but he just pitched forward to the ground.

And it took a second or two for the control to realize what happened and cut back to Smith who started yelling. Then they went to commercial and when they came back he apologized profusely and said that will never happen on his watch again. Of course he wasn't responsible and you can see a lot more graphic scenes on any cop show. Of course no one really dies on those, and actually we don't yet know the fate of the guy in AZ. They will tell us as soon as they know...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Man fatally shoots self on TV after Ariz. chase

By BOB CHRISTIE and DAVID BAUDER, AP
12 minutes ago
news-general-20120928-US.Phoenix.Police.Chase

Map shows Tonopah Arizona, where a suspected car-jacker appears to shoot him...

PHOENIX — Police say a man fatally shot himself in the head on live national television at the end of a high-speed chase that began in Phoenix.

Fox News was covering the chase that began at midday Friday using a live helicopter shot from Phoenix affiliate KSAZ-TV. The man driving what appeared to be a crossover sedan stopped, ran into the desert and placed a handgun to his head and fired.

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith told viewers minutes later that the video was supposed to be on a 10-second delay so it could be cut off from airing if something went awry.

Phoenix police say the chase started with a carjacking. The man then drove west on Interstate 10 to within 80 miles of the California border before getting on the dirt road.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A man apparently shot himself in the head Friday on live national television at the end of a high-speed chase that began in Phoenix.

Fox News was covering the chase that began at midday using a live helicopter shot from Phoenix affiliate KSAZ-TV when the man driving what appeared to be a crossover sedan stopped, ran into the desert and appeared to place a handgun to his head and fire.

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith told viewers minutes later that the video was supposed to be on a 10-second delay so it could be cut off from airing if something went awry.

"We really messed up, and we're all very sorry," Smith said.

It wasn't immediately clear if the man survived.

Fox apologized for showing the violence on air.

"We took every precaution to avoid any such live incident by putting the helicopter pictures on a five second delay," said Michael Clemente, executive vice president of news editorial. "Unfortunately, this mistake was the result of a severe human error and we apologize for what viewers ultimately saw on the screen."

More frequently than its rivals, Fox News Channel picks up car chases from its local affiliates and airs them live. It's gripping television, a live mystery with no clear resolution, and often provides a short-term ratings boost as viewers tune in to see how it ends. Critics say the chases themselves rarely rise to the level of national news. The Phoenix station was not airing the chase live when it ended.

The chase may have started with a carjacking near central Phoenix, but other than that, police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson was unable to immediately provide details.

The man headed west on Interstate 10, driving very fast for more than a half hour. Fox returned repeatedly to shots showing the copper-colored four-door sedan passing big-rig trucks that typically travel at about 70 mph as if they were standing still.

Police cars did not appear to be immediately behind the car during most of the chase.

The driver finally got off the highway about 100 miles west of Phoenix near the small community of Salome and turned onto a dirt road. He drove for a while, briefly pulled onto a paved road and then turned onto another dirt road and stopped.

Shepard Smith was narrating the video and clearly had his doubts about what was being shown from the moment the man stopped the car. "This scares me," he said.

"You wait for the end of these things and you worry about how they may end up," he said. "This makes me a little nervous, I got to tell you. A little nervous."

The video showed the man running erratically in a field before putting the gun to his head and firing. He fell to the ground.

Fox's picture quickly cut to Smith, who was shouting "get off, get off, get off, get off."

After the commercial break, Smith apologized repeatedly.

"That should not have been on TV. I personally apologize to you," Smith said. "That was wrong and it won't happen again on my watch and I'm sorry."

___.