MJS’s major miss on firearm story
| By Cody O - Apr 21st, 2009 at 2:13 pm EDT |
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Categories: Media Accountability, Peace and Social Justice, Criminal Justice Reform, One Wisconsin Now - The "tOWN Hall"
Categories: Media Accountability, Peace and Social Justice, Criminal Justice Reform, One Wisconsin Now - The "tOWN Hall"
Yesterday our NRA-backed Attorney General, JB Van Hollen, claimed that openly carrying a firearm should not result in a disorderly conduct charge in a memorandum issued to Wisconsin’s district attorneys.
Yesterday was also April 20, 2009—ten years to the day after the Columbine Massacre in Colorado: the most infamous school shooting in U.S. history sparked a nationwide debate on tolerance, firearms, schools, the media, and violence.
So it beyond puzzling how the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel could have covered Van Hollen’s memorandum on openly carrying firearms and NOT MENTION that its release fell on the 10-year anniversary of when two kids openly carried firearms into a high school, killed a dozen people, and wounded nearly two dozen more.
Instead, the MJS reporters who threw the story together quote a gun fanatic and apparent homophobe with ONLY a half-assed pro-gun website behind his name to lend his two-cents: "People who open carry do not do so to get attention,” this guy says. “They do so to make a political point, in many cases, just like a same sex couple going out of their way to hold hands in public."
Now, I don’t need to explain the kind of right-wing crazy it takes to think that when a loving same-sex couple holds hands it’s to make a political point. And I can’t explain how the hell anyone would know if two people have actually “gone out of their way” to hold hands in public.
But what I do know is that the MJS completely missed the mark on journalistic standards by covering Van Hollen’s open carry decree without nary an opposing viewpoint from Van Hollen, who is given more than plenty of space for his talking points, and then proceed to quote a right-wing tool while simultaneously ignoring the obvious parallels to the Columbine Massacre.
Yesterday was also April 20, 2009—ten years to the day after the Columbine Massacre in Colorado: the most infamous school shooting in U.S. history sparked a nationwide debate on tolerance, firearms, schools, the media, and violence.
So it beyond puzzling how the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel could have covered Van Hollen’s memorandum on openly carrying firearms and NOT MENTION that its release fell on the 10-year anniversary of when two kids openly carried firearms into a high school, killed a dozen people, and wounded nearly two dozen more.
Instead, the MJS reporters who threw the story together quote a gun fanatic and apparent homophobe with ONLY a half-assed pro-gun website behind his name to lend his two-cents: "People who open carry do not do so to get attention,” this guy says. “They do so to make a political point, in many cases, just like a same sex couple going out of their way to hold hands in public."
Now, I don’t need to explain the kind of right-wing crazy it takes to think that when a loving same-sex couple holds hands it’s to make a political point. And I can’t explain how the hell anyone would know if two people have actually “gone out of their way” to hold hands in public.
But what I do know is that the MJS completely missed the mark on journalistic standards by covering Van Hollen’s open carry decree without nary an opposing viewpoint from Van Hollen, who is given more than plenty of space for his talking points, and then proceed to quote a right-wing tool while simultaneously ignoring the obvious parallels to the Columbine Massacre.
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But, we appreciate your frustration with the endless partisanship out there. That's why we all decided to work for a non-partisan organization.
On the damaging leaks part -- it will be interesting to see if the media ignores the missteps of the Obama administration with the incompetent fealty to which they served the Bush administration from January 2001 to August 2006.
Let's start with this story... so the guy with the gun in his yard is a homophobe because he pointed out that there are same sex couples who hold hands to make a political point (I grew up near Dupont Circle in DC... if you think that public displays of affection between gays and lesbians are not done for political benefit in certain venues, you're either intellectually dishonest or deluded...), no one dragged out the Columbine anniversary, liberal rallying cry of the weakest variety (playing on emotion and tragedy is base and serves no one. It only demonstrates a lack of substance in the face of fact...), and tried to use it as a political tool on the same day, the MJS is bad for not re-telling a 10 year old story, tragic, true, but old news none-the less, and finally, because you can't understand any of this, you're tossing derrogitory, hateful names at people with strong opinions... on a political website, that calls Bill O'Reilly a sexual predator, that talks about WJS bending to big oil, that (insert next sensational, red meat for liberals, story here)... explain to me again where the non-partisan part comes into play? REALLY, Come on... who do you think you're kidding?
One thing that I think we can all agree on is that there is nothing more American, whether you are a liberal, conservative, etc... than saying "SCREW YOU" when you disagree with someone... I respectfully disagree with you... LOL. At least we have that...