MSNBC Alters Lawrence O’Donnell ‘Shooting Fish’ Michele Bachmann Segment in Online Version

In our earlier write-up of Lawrence O’Donnell‘s Michele Bachmann-themed “Rewrite” segment, I completely missed the possibly controversial nature of O’Donnell’s “shooting fish in a barrel” reference, but our sharp-eared video editor Jon Nicosia picked up on it, and also noticed that the segment, as aired, differed from the online version of the clip, which omitted the gun-centric intro. Was it altered to deflect possible criticism of “violent imagery?”

The clip, as aired, began with a 15-second intro that featured the Mythbusters literally shooting fish in a barrel, but the online version of the show omits the intro. O’Donnell’s repeated verbal references to the idiom remain, and the intro was still intact for the 11pm rerun. Here’s a comparison of the segment as aired, and the online version:

It’s unclear why the intro was axed, but it’s certainly reasonable to conclude that someone felt the marriage of a gun video and political commentary was in questionable taste. If so, it was a wise decision.

If that’s the case, this wouldn’t be the first time. Keith Olbermann made a rare (semi) correction during his April 7, 2009 show, which was excised from the online version of the show.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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