Friday, July 20, 2012

Making sure you know which side is "right"

CBS does some interesting framing on the (sadly, already started) gun-debate following the Colorado tragedy:

Gun Control Debate Returns After Colorado Shooting. Brian Montopoli, CBSNews.com

In the story CBS takes quotes from several pro-gun control advocates, all made out to be sensible people just wanting to have a conversation to stop people from dying.  Here's an example:
"The shooter should be brought to justice and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York, a Democrat whose husband was killed in a mass shooting on a train, said Friday morning. "But we as a nation should also not continue to ignore avenues to prevent tragedies like this from happening in the future."

So reasonable, so concerned that justice be done.  The one person who CBS chooses to quote that's anti-gun control?  Different story:
Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, a Republican, said the story made him wonder, "With all those people in the theater, was there nobody that was carrying a gun that could have stopped this guy more quickly?" (Gohmert also tied the tragedy to the "ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs.")

Yeah, crazy, wild-eyed.  Of all the people CBS could be bothered to find (or, more realistically, be bothered to Google search given the quote was lifted (with poor attribution) from the far left-leaning Huffington Post) you'd think they could have found someone who's possibly with the NRA, or perhaps even Dudley Brown, a gun-rights advocate based in Colorado.  At least ABC had the decency to mention him.

Not CBS though, they choose to go for the crazy.  On the side that, to them, is the 'wrong' side.

See, it's not too hard to make sure that you're issue is on the 'right side of history'.  You just have to make sure you only tell 1/2 the story.  Gold star to CBS for following the playbook to a T here.

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