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Media Accused of Gun Control Bias
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - A conservative media group accused television networks Wednesday of biased coverage of the gun control debate.
The television networks are so badly spinning the gun control debate in favor of gun control they have become the ``communications division of the anti-gun lobby,'' said Brent Bozell. He chairs the Media Research Center, which released its study of two years of television news stories on gun control.
The study analyzed the morning shows and evening newscasts between July 1, 1997, and June 30, 1999, on ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC.
``There's a powerful, pervasive bias in the media,'' said Oliver North, the former Iran-Contra figure who now hosts a political talk show and is a national board member of the National Rifle Association. ``This blitz of bias is having an extraordinary impact on public policy and legal opinion.''
CNN spokesman David Bittler defended his network's reporting, saying, ``We do not advocate for or against any particular position and we stand behind the balance and fairness that goes into all our reporting.''
Calls made to the three other networks were not immediately returned.
The issue of guns has increasingly been in the news as the nation has grappled with school shootings in places like Littleton, Colo., Paducah, Ky., and Pearl, Miss.
Bozell's group says it examined 653 morning and evening news stories on gun policy issues and found that stories advocating more gun control outnumbered stories opposing gun control 357 to 36, or a ratio of 10 to 1. Another 260 stories were neutral, the group said.
In many cases, the study said, pro-gun themes were not covered and gun proponents were not given air time.
Naomi Paiss, spokeswoman for Handgun Control, called the complaints ``lovable chutzpah'' on North's part.
``Add to that the right-wing domination of talk radio, the toeing by congressional Republicans of the NRA's line, the slavish devotion of the Republican presidential frontrunner to the NRA message and this is clearly the comedy press conference with which to start off the new year,'' Paiss said.
Media Accused of Gun Control Bias
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - A conservative media group accused television networks Wednesday of biased coverage of the gun control debate.
The television networks are so badly spinning the gun control debate in favor of gun control they have become the ``communications division of the anti-gun lobby,'' said Brent Bozell. He chairs the Media Research Center, which released its study of two years of television news stories on gun control.
The study analyzed the morning shows and evening newscasts between July 1, 1997, and June 30, 1999, on ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC.
``There's a powerful, pervasive bias in the media,'' said Oliver North, the former Iran-Contra figure who now hosts a political talk show and is a national board member of the National Rifle Association. ``This blitz of bias is having an extraordinary impact on public policy and legal opinion.''
CNN spokesman David Bittler defended his network's reporting, saying, ``We do not advocate for or against any particular position and we stand behind the balance and fairness that goes into all our reporting.''
Calls made to the three other networks were not immediately returned.
The issue of guns has increasingly been in the news as the nation has grappled with school shootings in places like Littleton, Colo., Paducah, Ky., and Pearl, Miss.
Bozell's group says it examined 653 morning and evening news stories on gun policy issues and found that stories advocating more gun control outnumbered stories opposing gun control 357 to 36, or a ratio of 10 to 1. Another 260 stories were neutral, the group said.
In many cases, the study said, pro-gun themes were not covered and gun proponents were not given air time.
Naomi Paiss, spokeswoman for Handgun Control, called the complaints ``lovable chutzpah'' on North's part.
``Add to that the right-wing domination of talk radio, the toeing by congressional Republicans of the NRA's line, the slavish devotion of the Republican presidential frontrunner to the NRA message and this is clearly the comedy press conference with which to start off the new year,'' Paiss said.