In an April 25 post, CBS's "Public Eye" editor Brian Montopoli worries that the media are not doing enough reporting on gun control, lamenting that the media are waiting for political players to gin up the issue.
There were reasons not to take up larger issues and assign blame in the immediate wake of the shootings – those first few days needed to be about how people were dealing with the horror of what had taken place. But some time has now passed, and I'm hard pressed to think of a better time for the media to focus on a huge issue that isn't going away anytime soon.
Where has Montopoli been? Not only have the media been focusing on the gun control angle to the story, they've heavily leaned in favor of more gun control, including featurin gun control advocates in both broadcast and print coverage. While there were a few exceptions, most media coverage has cheerleaded the notion of enacting new gun control laws. Here's a refresher for Montopoli, a list of some of our coverage over the past nine days:
- MSNBC.com Cites Unlabeled Anti-Gun Activist
- ABC Poll Finds Twice as Many Blame Culture Over Guns, But 'World News' Spikes It
- Howard Fineman to Democrats On Guns: 'You Gonna Do Something Now?!'
- Despite Rise in Gun Crime in Britain, ABC News Trumpets UK's Handgun Ban
- ABC News: VT Killer 'Purchased Ammo' on Ebay... But Ebay Doesn't SELL Ammunition!
- Disappointment at ABC News: 'Politicians and Gun Control: Why Aren’t They Outraged?'
- Barbara Walters: Rosie's Gun Control Surrrender 'Made Me Sad'
- ABC's Ross: 'Some Say' Right to Bear Arms a Scandal
- CBS Suggests More Gun Control Could Impede Terrorism
- Nets Blame Virginia's 'Lax' Gun Laws, Gibson and Couric Press Bush on Gun Control
- CNN First to Pursue Gun Control Angle With Virginia Tech Murders
- MSNBC's David Shuster Promises to Examine Gun Policies That 'Enabled' Killer
- 'Early Show' Anchor Much Tougher on Gun Supporter Than Opponent
- ABCNews.com Jumps to Push Gun Control; On TV Tapper Notes Greater Access Option
More at Alphecca blog.
