KMIZ accountable for news crew’s conduct

KMIZ would like to address and take full responsibility for the conduct taken by two of our newsroom employees.

The ABC 17 News crew was assigned to cover Columbia’s so-called “fireworks war” Wednesday night when they encountered three individuals intending to take part in the annual event. Our crew agreed to drive those individuals in exchange for confirmation that Demaret Drive was the location of this year’s event.

The decision was wrong and failed to live up to the ethical standards KMIZ has for its journalists.
We would like to apologize to the Demaret Drive neighbors, Boone County Sheriff’s Department, Columbia Police Department and the three young men that were allowed into our vehicle.

Our job as journalists is to objectively cover the news, not become participants in the coverage.
Both employees have been suspended pending an internal investigation by KMIZ management.