Firearms Follies: How the News Media Cover Gun Control (From The Culture of Crime, P 127-136, 1995, Craig L LaMay and Everette E Dennis, eds. -- See NCJ-159964)

• NCJ Number: 159978
• Author(s): T Gest
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Transaction Publishers
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This essay assesses the quality of the news coverage of gun- control issues and legislation.

Abstract

The prominence of firearms in the news is inevitable, given that crime is a primary subject of news coverage, and guns are a major means of committing crime. The issue of guns and gun control involve technical matters, such as the design, capabilities, and criminal use of various types of firearms. The nature and assessment of gun-control legislation and its likely impact on crime is also an important part of an analysis of gun- control issues. Typically, the media are collectively unsophisticated about reporting technical issues. Considering coverage overall, the meager statistical evidence available shows that media personnel tilt in favor of gun control, which is evident in some of the biased coverage of gun-control issues. Editorials are by definition biased, in that they come down on one side of an issue, presumably based on clear and rational argument. Editorial positions, however, should not influence news reporting, but there are indications that bias has crept into the reporting on gun control. This is shown in imbalanced reporting, flaws in statistics, and favoritism in presenting the views of opposing interest groups. More common ground might be reached if the news media focused more on analyzing and presenting the information and statistics used by both sides of the issue to buttress their arguments.