Jackson comments almost went unreported

LOS ANGELES, July 11 (UPI) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson's crude remark about Barack Obama could have gone unreported but for a technician's training exercise, Fox News network officials said.

Jackson made the comment before an interview on Sunday's "Fox & Friends," saying Obama was "talking down to black people" and Jackson wanted to crudely castrate him. Jackson later apologized publicly to Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois and likely Democratic presidential nominee.

The comments went unnoticed until an employee transcribed the tape Sunday as part of training for the network's digital conversion, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Otherwise, "it potentially would have not been discovered," said Bill Shine, Fox News' senior vice president for programming.

On Tuesday, a staff member in the digital department e-mailed Jackson's comments to a producer for "The O'Reilly Factor," the cable network's top-rated show. The producer then alerted the show's staff in New York.

News executives recognized the significance of the footage, Shine said

"I looked at it and thought, 'This is going to be news,' " Shine told the Times.

The network contacted Jackson and Obama to alert them about the footage. Shine said Jackson did not ask Fox News to withhold the tape.