MSNBC took the occasion of a triple homicide on Chicago's south side to push its own anti-"assault rifle" meme on February 27 by including the words "assault rifle" in the headline of its story on the incident. No other media source, however, took this unusual step. So, here we have some old fashioned bias by MSNBC.
MSNBC's version of the story clumsily screams "Man charged in assault rifle killings of 3 teens" over the top of its AP wire feed. Yet, while every story in the news and certainly every AP story mentions that the killer used an "assault rifle," only MSNBC put the words in the headline. This befits MSNBC's anti-gun agenda, presumably.
It is well known that many news outlets write their own headlines for AP wire stories. Not every paper, TV station or radio website does this, of course, but it does happen frequently. So, it is no surprise to see the MSNBC website with a different headline than other versions of the same AP wire story. However, no other story has "assault rifle" in the headline but MSNBC.
A Google search of the first line of the AP story that appears on MSNBC's website shows a few different headlines, including:
- Man charged in triple shootings of Chicago teens
- Prosecutors: Man charged with murder in shootings of 3 teens on Chicago's South Side
Authorities have made the claim that the killer, gang member Martin Ybarra, used what they term an assault rifle in the crime, but no details about what that means is given.
Of course, most gun owners and those familiar with guns understand that the term assault rifle really doesn't have much meaning. It's an ill defined term usually used by people that want to impute a negative connotation to firearms, it's more of a scare tactic than a properly descriptive one. This being the case, it is interesting that MSNBC elected to put the term in its headline, isn't it? It is telling that no other news source did so.
I don't know about you, but were I a family member of one of the three killed I might be a tad offended that the gun got top billing on MSNBC! Perhaps the victims don't figure so prominently in the minds of the headline writers at the cable TV newser?
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Where's the story?
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 09:52 ET by KC Mulville"I don't know about you, but were I a family member of one of the three killed I might be a tad offended that the gun got top billing on MSNBC!"
That was my first thought. What's the story here? This is just a political point being made, where the real life people (and their grieving families) are mere props - part of the scenery. That's the de-humanizing effect of partisan bias.
People do not kill people.
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:34 ET by kgPeople do not kill people. SUVs and assault rifles kill people.
MSNBC is the official tool for the Democrat's party.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
MSNBC should really just
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:08 ET by marpelMSNBC should really just turn a gun on themselves. They would at least be doing their part to "green the earth" (whatever the hell that means).
I'M SHOCKED...
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:19 ET by SgthulkaThat the panty-wearers at MessNBC would do such a thing.
I heard that the assualt weapon has buddies who are SUVs.
An assault weapon?
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:45 ET by ckbennetttnIsn't any item used to assault someone an assault weapon? An assault spoon, an assault pillow, an assault baseball bat? These items were not made for the purpose of assaulting someone, nor were guns, despite what libs think.
Obama: 'I screwed up'--We're going to be seeing this a lot.
Yeah, cause the gun did it
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:07 ET by marriagemanI guess that's like saying that it's the fault of Obama's pen that he signed the largest budget in history in the midst of a very down economy. See: http://www.gracecentered.com/christian_forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=673edffa93fdd8818f3b85c3613f3dd9&topic=33243.0
Assault Rifle?
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:17 ET by slickwillie2001The only operative legal definition that I can come up with for an 'assault rifle' is that it is a type of gun that scares liberals even more than others. Maybe they have a 'scary scale' that they rate guns on; you know, points for black parts, for something on the end of the barrel, points for a stock NOT made of furniture wood. Those curvy magazines also tend to make liberals pee their pants.
On a related note, here's someone pointing out how clueless our new Attorney-General is on federal gun legislation: Holder Beclowns Self ...: http://ace.mu.nu/archives/283442.php
(Quotes from Holder on how we have to do something about 'gunshow loopholes' and 'copkiller bullets'.)
The Star-Tribune article
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 12:01 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveThe Star-Tribune article reports: "Police said shells from the shooting indicated an assault rifle was the
murder weapon and that an assault rifle had been recovered."
This is idiotic even for the police to say...but it is Chicago and they are gun-rights haters. "Assault rifles" don't have their very own caliber. Just because you recovered some shell casings that may be common to "assault rifles" doesn't mean it was an "assault rifle."
The anti-gunners and the media base their definition of an "assault rifle" merely on the appearance of the weapon rather than the operation. A commonly agreed upon definition of an assault rifle by people who know what they're talking about is a selective-fire (having both semi-auto and full-auto, and perhaps a 3-round burst) weapon designed for military/combat use. The classification of "assault rifle" is NOT at all determined by the caliber of the cartridges used.
"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life." --Robert A. Heinlein, "Beyond This Horizon," 1942
An Assault Rifle is
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 13:13 ET by Jackrvdefined as a rifle capable of select fire, i.e. single pull of the trigger, 3 round burst or full auto.
The made up term is "assault weapon" which means any nasty looking rifle those in power don't like.
Jack Van Nostrand
Obamas lies...how can one keep track of them all?
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 15:35 ET by Army BratTaken from Fox news...
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL:
As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few
gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be
to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons. I think that
will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum.
Uh...Mexico? We sell machine guns to Mexican drug cartels? And why do I care that Mexico can't defeat their own criminals? When they come here to kill...kill them first. Banning "Assault Weapons" in the US to help Mexico? I guess nothing Obambi and his minions do at this point should surprise me but...wow...
That was the attorney general arguing that reinstating a ban on assault weapons here in the United States would benefit Mexico.
The ban, was signed into law by Bill Clinton and expired in 2004. The
attorney general believes that bringing it back, this time on a
permanent basis, would cut off the weapons flow across the U.S.-Mexico
border...(This concerns our Hip Hop Prez...not the weapons flow in to Gaza to Hamas.) which he says has contributed to the increase in violence there.
Rifles increased violence...like flies increase garbage... It's not the drugs or the cartel leaders or the corrupt Mexican officials...rifles are to blame. How incredibly stupid is that? Not stupid at all...he and Obummer both know better...Obama has an agenda. (duh...) And the American people must be disarmed for it to succeed.
Obama is a liar.
Lies about lobbyists, lies about earmarks, lies about gun ownership, lies galore. Has he told the truth about anything..?
Oh yeah...he said, "The price of energy will skyrocket under my administration".
That's one thing I see him working on in earnest.
Don't piss down my back and try to tell me it's raining.
Happy Trails...
Assault Rifle
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 15:43 ET by CobraManAssault Rifle: any of various automatic or semiautomatic rifles with large capacity magazines designed for military use.
Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
If the perps in this case used an Assault Rifle, then that would have been an Illegal Assault Rifle as most, if not all, people in Chicago are unable to legally own a military Assault Rifle. I wonder why the press omits that "illegal" label?
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Well I'll be...after
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 15:50 ET by bigtimerWell I'll be...after listening to DiFi (again) on the floor yesterday regarding this very subject, why I would think she wrote the headlines.
These critters and their agenda will never stop...ever.
Btw...DiFi lost...it had to do with the DC laws that have been handed down already by the courts, she (and others) are still trying to undo them.