CBS News issued a public apology at the end of Saturday’s “48 Hours” episode and on the newsmagazine’s Web site for altering a photo on the front page of The Columbia Daily Tribune. The photo was shown during a “48 Hours” segment about the conviction of Ryan Ferguson for the murder of Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt.
The Tribune accused the newsmagazine last week of replacing a photo of Ryan Ferguson that appeared on the front page of its Dec. 5, 2005, issue. In the original photo, Ferguson wore an orange jumpsuit and sat next to one of his lawyers, Charley Rogers. After doctoring, “48 Hours” used a picture of Ferguson wearing a tan suit. The headline and text were unaltered.
The executive producer of “48 Hours” apologized to the Tribune, but a spokeswoman for CBS said last week that CBS would not issue a public apology.
“Last week we weren’t sure, but we decided it was the right thing to do,” said Sandy Genelius, the CBS spokeswoman.
The correction was shown at the end of the episode, and said that “48 Hours” apologizes to the Tribune and their viewers for changing the photo. Genelius said last week that a freelance editor made an “error in judgment” when he changed the photo.