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Grassroots Activism Influences The Media
Bobbie Jo Buel |
NRA Director Rathner |
The pro-gun community has grown rather accustomed to the anti-gun
bias most members of the so-called "mainstream media" exhibit
when covering firearm-related stories. So when
the Arizona Daily Star
invited a group of its readers to take part in a public
forum to discuss how the paper covers the issue of gun control,
local pro-gun activists, including NRA Director
Todd Rathner,
leapt at the opportunity to express their concerns.
According to
Bobbie
Jo Buel, Managing Editor of the Daily Star, the topic of
firearms was chosen because she was aware of the fact that many
of the paper's readers felt the paper could not be unbiased. You
see, the Daily Star has an editorial policy that supports
increasing restrictions on law-abiding gun owners, and it
prohibits advertising legal, private gun sales. But the paper
also claimed to be able to keep its advertising and editorial
policies separate and independent of its news reporting.
After
the forum, which also included members of a local anti-gun group
that is linked to Sarah Brady and her gun-ban lobby,
formerly
known as HCI, the paper established an "action plan," that
includes:
- Developing a formal course in firearm basics for its reporters;
- Analyzing content to identify bias;
- Revising publication and style guidelines;
- Creating a directory of firearm experts;
- Increasing outdoor sports coverage.
NRA Director Rathner described the forum as well run and
congenial, and he felt cautiously optimistic that it was a step
in the right direction. We look forward to updates from Todd, and
hope the paper follows through with its stated intentions.
Grassroots activists across the country should take note, and if
their local paper also exhibits anti-gun bias, they should
contact the paper to try to set up a similar forum. For those on
the Internet who are interested in the Arizona Daily Star's
article on this forum and its action plan, go to
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/sun/10617parham.html. The article,
"Gun enthusiasts should see changes in news coverage," by Maria
Parham, should remain posted until Sunday, and then you may need
to look for it in the paper's online archive.
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