US: Impeachment trial goes blue, forcing network language calls

During a gripping 13 minutes at start of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial Tuesday, television's biggest networks aired foot of U.S. Capitol siege with unusually explicit langu.

tape, compiled from several sources by House impeachment manrs, offered a chrological view of former president's statements on Jan. 6 and actions by a mob of his supporters as y broke into Capitol.

It included several examples of rough langu, including a chant, “f—- blue,” apparently directed at police officers, and use of word “morf——-” by a rioter. foot was aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC as part of live cover of trial's first day.

t only was langu heard, but some of it was written on screen by preparers of tape, in case audio wasn't clear.

Airing such langu is a tough call, but news executives have to judge wher it is ir role to censor what is being shown on floor of U.S. Senate, said retired NBC News executive Bill Wheatley.

“It helped communicate passion and terror that was going on at time,” Wheatley said. “To have been bleeping it constantly might have been a disservice to what actually happened.”

Society in general has grown coarser over years and television has reflected that. News organizations were tested in 2018 when n-President Trump me a reference to “s—-hole countries” in Africa and Central America. But Tuesday's langu was frowned upon by Federal Communications Commission, and aired in daytime when children could be expected to be watching.

Brocast networks are subject to FCC fines if someone complains about langu. Cable networks, since y are subscription services, have more leniency when it comes to words y use.

NBC News reporters h been tipped off before hearing to expect rough langu, according to a person familiar with matter who spoke on condition of anymity because network doesn't talk about internal editorial calls. network put a warning label onscreen when video of Capitol demonstration aired.

CBS News h t been told ahe of time to expect langu, a spokeswoman said. But since network was familiar with some of videos that h been circulating, executives anticipated possibility and network's legal department vised that it was OK to air what impeachment manrs presented. Offending langu would be edited out in subsequent airings of any video.

At ABC News, langu took network by surprise, said a person familiar with matter who spoke on condition of anymity to discuss internal deliberations.

It left network in an awkward position: It wasn't able to clean up langu on fly, because that would require airing video on a delayed basis. But if video was aired on delay, that would put network out of sync when impeachment manrs resumed speaking live.

matter how news executives came to decision to air it, many television commentators spoke to its potential impact on viewers, if t senators who will vote on wher or t to impeach Trump. NBC News reporter Garrett Haake, who was reporting on proceedings, said it appeared that some senators watching were seeing foot for first time.

“It's one of most powerful and disturbing pieces of evidence that I've seen at opening of a trial,” said MSNBC's Ari Melber.