Shirley Sherrod Timeline

There has been a lot of confusion regarding the timeline of Andrew Breitbart's Shirley Sherrod video and the subsequent coverage by Fox News Channel and other media outlets, so I have attempted to piece together the following timeline which I believe is correct:

Monday morning: Andrew Breitbart releases video on Biggovernment.com.

Monday afternoon: USDA Secretary Tim Vilsack issues this statement: "There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person... We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously". Shirley Sherrod is driving home and is asked by a USDA official to resign because "you are going to be on Glenn Beck tonight".

Also, the NAACP releases a statement saying they are "appalled by her actions" and that her "her actions were shameful", even though only they possess the entire un-edited video.

Foxnews.com had posted a story sometime that day, but the story has still not been discussed on the Fox News Channel. According to the Los Angeles times: "At an afternoon editorial meeting Monday, [Fox News Channel Senior Vice President Michael] Clemente urged the staff to first get the facts and obtain comment from Sherrod before going on air, according to internal notes from the meeting that were provided to The Times. 'Let’s make sure we do this right,' he said."

Monday evening: Beck does not discuss the story on his 5 PM broadcast. O'Reilly plays the tape during the last 15 minutes of his show and says she should resign, a statement for which he later apologizes. Hannity covers the story, as well as Gretta Van Susteren. According to mediaite.com, "it was also referenced by a guest on Larry King Live, and Anderson Cooper did have a brief segment as well on CNN."

Tuesday morning: According to mediaite.com, all three cable networks lead with the Sherrod video. Mediaite.com also points out that "On Tuesday, FNC covered the story...39 times... MSNBC covered it 21 times, [and] CNN mentioned Shirley Sherrod 63 times."

Tuesday afternoon: Beck covers the story for the first time and defends Shirley Sherrod, suspecting that the quote was taken out of context, stating, "Now here's a possible actual example of someone taken completely out of context and they immediately get rid of her."

Wednesday: NAACP releases the entire videotape, and says they were "snookered" by Fox News, even though they released their statement before the story was discussed by anyone on the Fox News Channel. Administration apologizes for firing Sherrod.

For more on this, check out the mediaite.com story.