ABC News has apologized for mistakenly running a picture of former Washington Mayor Marion Barry when it was promoting a "World News" story about a man suing a dry cleaner for $54 million for losing his pants.Roy Pearson is a piece of work, and a true example of "another story for another time". But confusing him, and the beleaguered Barry is just another example of the media's lack of awareness or sensitivity when it comes to people of color. These are two relatively harmless (cause it's not like Barry or Jefferson could possibly look any worse) examples, but what if this were a hit and run, or drive by shooting, and the wrong person's face was mistakenly flashed on the 6 o'clock news? The possibilities are endless. And frightening.
Both Roy L. Pearson, who filed the lawsuit, and Barry are black. Barry's picture ran for East Coast feeds Tuesday when Pearson's story was "teased" at the beginning of the news. It was corrected for later editions, spokeswoman Natalie Raabe said.
The mistake happened because both men happened to be in a Washington court that day and ABC got video of both, Raabe said. Barry was acquitted this week of drunken driving charges.
ABC and Fox News, please, get it together.
ABC apologizes for Marion Barry flub [AP]
