Mistake? or slipped info? must read

Glitch creates false headlines at WMTV's digital weather channel
By NICK HEYNEN Wisconsin State Journal

"Terrorist strikes on four American cities. Russia rolling into Eastern Europe. Israel hit by a nuclear bomb. Gay marriage in every state. The end of the Boy Scouts. ..."

Late-night channel surfers in south-central Wisconsin saw these bizarre headlines scroll across the screen if they happened to flip to WMTV-TV's The Weather Authority channel (cable channel 247 or channel 15.2 for digital broadcast viewers) at 11 p.m. Friday, after an automated program operated by the NBC affiliate encountered a glitch.

The text was from the start of an actual Associated Press story about political attacks on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama from the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family Action. But irregular formatting in the wire story caused an error in how it was displayed, WMTV news director Chris Gegg said.


The headline was pulled from the news feed shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday after a concerned viewer called the station, Gregg said.

WMTV's Weather Authority channel is available to digital TV viewers in 14 counties in south-central Wisconsin, as well as Charter customers with digital cable. The misleading headline was also simulcast via streaming video on the station's Web site.

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