Media

The media

The media in pursuit of sensationalism, sales and the belief that it serves the public good is only too willing to promote what it believes. What the media believes can only be judged by its behaviour in what and how it reports.

Steve Adams drove his Cadillac into a crowded pre-school play ground because he "wanted to execute innocent children". Two children died horrible deaths as one was mangled under the wheels and the other pinned to a tree by the car. Five other children were seriously injured. Only one television network provide even a passing reference to this attack. 1

The shooting spree at a high school in Pearl, Mississippi in which two students were killed was stopped by the brave actions of Joel Myrick an assistant principle. Myrick retrieved his pistol from his car and immobilised the shooter before police arrived.

A Lexis-Nexis search indicates that 687 articles appeared in the first month after the Pearl shooting. Only 19 mentioned Myrick in any way. Slightly more than half of these 19 mentioned that Myrick used a handgun to stop the attack. 1

The media has a responsibility they loudly voice when the freedom of the press is an issue. They must be what they claim, the watchdogs of the public, not the lap dogs of zealots.

The freedom of citizens is just as important if not more so than the media's own self interest. Why then does the media promote the ideological and unjust removal of peoples rights to defend themselves with the best means available to them?

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1 Ref: More guns, less crime, J. Lott Jr.

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