USA Today is as anti-gun as they come. To be fair, the McPaper sometimes gives the pro-gun side column equal time in dueling editorials, including me. But most of the time USA Today has no interest in being fair. This video piece and printed article on Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America’s visit to Capitol Hill highlights the editors’ willingness to bias their reports for the bloody shirt wavers seeking civilian disarmament – regardless of the fact that the empress has no clothes. For example . . .
the headline: Moms flock to Capitol Hill to demand gun control. How many Moms makes a flock, pray tell? The video says “more than 100.” I’m not seeing it, you? What I am seeing: a reporter who hands Shannon and her minions the microphone and lets them make pronouncements, rather than respond to interviews. That’s not what I – or any self-respecting member of the profession – call journalism. It’s what I call unfiltered anti-gun agitprop.
“In an effort to rally more support, members of the group have been hosting house parties in their home states, trying to get their neighbors to join in.” The operative word there is “trying.” How many house parties did MDA hold, exactly? While it would be difficult to verify that fact, the question needs asking. Because the critical factor about MDA is this: its size. MDA’s importance depends on its popular support. Truth be told, relatively speaking, it doesn’t have any. That said . . .
I understand that, like sex, size is only one factor amongst many. All voices deserve to be heard. But all voices deserve to be heard in context. And skepticism is a journalist’s default position – no matter what side of an issue they’re addressing. Reporting like this is lazy, unfair and unacceptable. It’s the reason the “legacy media” is losing ground against newcomers. And thank God for that.