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 TV cable newser?
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Eric Holder is smiling
BlueStateSaint Saturday, February 28th at 8:11AM EST (link)PMSNBC painted themselves as the “anti-Bush” cable network while President Bush was in office. It would follow that they are in the tank for anything the Obamessiah wants.
How’s those ratings, MSNBC, anyway?
Will the media start showing "flagged draped coffins"
Praying (Diary) Saturday, February 28th at 8:33AM EST (link)of all the people killed in Chicago? I know that for at least a few months of the past year, there were more people killed in Chicago than in the wars. I think people also need to remember that guns don’t kill people – people kill people. If you take away the guns, people will still find a way to kill people. But we won’t have any way to defend ourselves from those people!
No!!!11!1!!1!1! The Bilderbergers are coming
At least they mentioned a person was involved!
bk (Diary) Saturday, February 28th at 9:00AM EST (link)Compare to some other examples…
Fox: SUV Kills 2 Children at Border Crossing
NY Daiiy News: SUV kills teen, seriously injures father in Sunset Park
LA Times: SUV Kills Woman Standing at Bus Stop
UPI: Girl killed by SUV as twin watches
Assault Rifle definition
fmaidment (Diary) Saturday, February 28th at 9:46AM EST (link)Assault Rifle has a very particular definition:
assault rifle
?
–noun
1. a military rifle capable of both automatic and semiautomatic fire, utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge.
2. a nonmilitary weapon modeled on the military assault rifle, usu. modified to allow only semiautomatic fire.
Source: Dictionary.com
As a gun owner, shooting enthusiast and amateur military historian, I believe this definition is pretty good.
The fact that politicians and the news media usually completely ignore this definition does not mean it is ill-defined. It means that they are 1) stupid, 2) have an agenda or 3) are just sloppy.
I’ve seen UZIs and Thompsons referred to as “assault rifles,” even though they are actually sub-machine guns. Heavy rifles like the Garand and even automatic shotguns are called “assault rifles” by those who don’t have a clue. Sometimes, even hand guns with a stabilizing stock are called “assault rifles.”
I’d like to know details about the gun. Was it really an assault rifle, or was it just a scary looking gun?
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– - Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791
Assault rifle is full or select fire per the Army
olsmithie (Diary) Saturday, February 28th at 10:53AM EST (link)I see Wikipedia has also jumped on the popular “misuse” bandwagon adding Barbara Boxers definition of “ugly” firearms,, “ugly” therefore must be must be an assault weapon.
We need to be careful not to add to the public confusion.
The success of the whole attack on these weapons is predicated on public confusion. i.e. Many folks I talk to are under the impression that when they see a civilian with an AK-47, that he is using a “Machine gun.”
Of course, private ownership of full auto has been highly restricted and regulated since the ’30s, so likely what the person saw was a semi-auto look alike, but the media continues to confuse the public.
I have heard newscasters call semi-autos “machine guns,” when they knew better. The more confused the public is about to issue, the easier it is to fool them into supporting bans and the like.
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FirearmsGlossary/
One good suggestion I saw was:
“– simply call them ‘semi-automatic rifles’ and do away with the sensationalism of labeling any black-stock weapon with a pistol grip an ‘assault rifle.’ ”
-Trey Garrison
Good discussion of topic at:
http://startelegram.typepad.com/crime_time/2007/11/gun-guy-challen.html
REgards
Not all are "rifles"
fmaidment (Diary) Saturday, February 28th at 11:23AM EST (link)…though most will have a rifled barrel.
Many are shotguns, handguns, and sub-machine guns.
But you are right that almost all are semi-automatic weapons, not full-auto. Obtaining a fully automatic weapon these days is difficult at best. Since 1984, with very few exceptions, civilians cannot buy new ones. Since 1934, regulations and taxes have heavily restricted access. Full-auto is a plaything for the rich, not a tool for criminals.
The correct AP style should be to label it as a firearm or gun, unless it can be properly identified by its make and specific type, as in “Ruger Mini-14″ or “Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum.”
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“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.”
– - Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791
Simple, For MSM
rcov092 (Diary) Saturday, February 28th at 10:41AM EST (link)they do not define “assault rifles” They think in terms of “assault “weapons”. For them an “assault weapon” is any device that expels a projectile with the force of an explosion.
Their agenda is not the banning of “assault rifles” it is the banning of “assault weapons”, they are just taking it one step at a time.
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Someone did post the type of weapon...
fmaidment (Diary) Saturday, February 28th at 11:27AM EST (link)Am I right that it’s the Bloomington, IL paper?
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“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.”
– - Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791