Media firearms ignorance continues....

[mehavey]

> A 12-year-old student opened fire at a New Mexico
> middle school Tuesday, injuring two classmates,...
> New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas said late
> Tuesday that the shooter used a 22-gauge shotgun.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/01/15...cmp=latestnews

Either ignorance, or gross proofreading by at least three levels of editorial management that were able to miss the glaringly obvious.

Of course I'm also impressed that it took me until well more than half way down the article before finding that it wasn't one of those evil black guns, but rather a JB special. If it had been [one of those evil guns], the opening line in the 1st para would undoubtedly have been "...A gunman wielding an assault weapon....:

(I do find it ironic that the shotgun has been an "assault weapon" of choice in close quarters since the Civil War.)

[TimSr]

I could compose a list of media buzzwords used though the years by clueless media as though they were speaking a foreign language.

Back in the late 80's and 90's when the term "assault weapon" first started being thrown around, the term "semi-automtaic" was used to label anyting that held more than one round. I remember a newscast where the suspect shot a clerk with a "semi-automatic revolver". (I guess it was double action)

First every black gun was an Uzi. Then they were AK-47s. Now they are all AR-15s.

I've also noticed that every time some punk thug a gun in a school, which has always been an occasional, mostly urban problem it is reported as "another school shooting" to imply every one is a Columbine. I guess now you can add "movie theater" to that list.

Its funny how they all latch on to the same terminolgy to create an impression that somethng is epidemic, evn though they have no idea what the terms they are using mean.

[BarryLee]

Anyone that saw CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Jeopardy understands that these “journalist” are not nearly as smart as they believe themselves to be. Also, some of this is driven by a desire to be first with the story or often just simply laziness.

However, some of it is actually agenda driven as I’ve seen on CNN where some reporters have made statements that were simply outright lies.

[bikerbill]

An early story I read said the victim was shot with a bullet from a 20-gauge shotgun ... I was a journalist for 31 years; the basic rule is, if you don't know what you're talking about, find someone who does or keep your mouth shut .. seems not to be followed much anymore ...

[ClydeFrog]

I always hark back to the high profile case of Casey Anthony in Orlando(Orange County).
When she was released from the county jail, a local reporter(Orlando Sentinel) called a SRT deputy's HK UMP .45acp, a "AK45".
Could the reporter or any media on scene ask the deputy or the agency's public affairs officer what weapons they use? Sure.
Do they? No, of course not.

In the modern US media it's not getting things right, it's getting things fast.
Some points aren't worth being upset over(calling magazines; clips or complaints about the term: high capacity) etc..
Not everyone is a "gun person" or "into guns" but basic facts & terms aren't difficult to learn.

[357 Python]

Soon the antis will claim that shotguns with gauges that large and hold more than 2 rounds of ammo are way too powerful for the average person. Their solution would be a law that should make them restricted for law enforcement and military use.

[RamItOne]

ClydeFrog
They may have asked and the reply could have been HK45 and the reporter of course due to ignorance misunderstood. I doubt they would have been able to look at it themselves and determine it was an H&K and figure out the caliber.

[towboat-er]

The government may outlaw 22 gauge shotguns.

[ClydeFrog]

I could understand a simple mistake if it was something the media reporter heard, but if you see a UMP .45acp you can clearly tell it's not a AK rifle.
To say; "well, not everyone knows guns" isn't really a valid excuse either. There are 1,000,000s of AK47 & SKS series rifles all over the globe.
Would a reporter(with a BA or higher degree) not know what a AK47 rifle looks like?

As noted, good journalists & writers check sources or verify details. Editors & staffs stay in business this way.

[vito]

I think one of the more harmful misstatements made in the media frequently is to refer to someone who has more than a few boxes of ammunition and guns as "an arsenal". Not that long ago, in a social setting, this very topic came up with a local TV news personality who was at the event (and is totally gun ignorant). She asked me at one point how much ammunition I keep at home, and I said "not much, probably no more than a few thousand rounds of the calibers that I frequently shoot at the range" and she stared at me with astonishment. She said I must be one of those crazy "gun nuts". I told her that someone could fit about 4,000 rounds of 22LR in a shoebox and after pondering that a few moments she said "well maybe a few thousand is not really so crazy"!

[doofus47]

It is amazing to me that willful ignorance of a topic so often talked about is a badge of pride in some circles....

[Snyper]

I could understand a simple mistake if it was something the media reporter heard, but if you see a UMP .45acp you can clearly tell it's not a AK rifle.

Did the reporter say "rifle"?
Did they show a picture of a rifle?

If not they probably just misheard "HK" as "AK"

Maybe YOU misheard what she said, too

[skimbell]

...Anyone that saw CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Jeopardy understands that these “journalist” are not nearly as smart as they believe themselves to be. Also, some of this is driven by a desire to be first with the story or often just simply laziness...

Or stupidity.
One of my favorites was Shepard Smith after the Boston Marathon bombing when he got all excited and reported 2 deaths and 12 decapitations.

[vito]

Don't be so quick to condemn Shepard Smith. Some folks are so dumb that decapitation does not automatically translate into death. They might live for quite awhile since they are already used to not having a brain.

[44 AMP]

decapitation does not automatically translate into death. They might live for quite awhile since they are already used to not having a brain.

This reminds me of a story (supposedly real) from some years ago...

Courtroom, ME (doctor) on the stand, being questioned by the defense council.

lawyer: Did you check the victim's pulse?"
ME: No.
lawyer: Did you check his blood pressure?
ME: no.
lawyer: Did you check his respiration?
ME: No.
Lawyer: Then, in fact, you did not check to see if he was dead?!"
ME: Well, I figured he was, because his brain was sitting in a jar on my desk, but I suppose he could have been practicing law somewhere.....

Apparently, being a news reporter/talking head is also a profession open to those without brains....

[Willie Lowman]

"well, not everyone knows guns" isn't really a valid excuse either.

Well, yeah it is... Kinda sorta. Ever notice how every big piece of construction equipment is a "bulldozer" on the news? Doesn't mater if it is a rubber tire backhoe, an articulated end loader, a mobile crane, a RT forklift. They are all bulldozers when the evening news comes on.

Most of the time it's because the reporter doesn't know what they are talking about so they use a common term as a catch-all. This also happens because the audience of FAUX News/ABC/NBC/CBS are mostly mouth breathing idiots. The reporter has to dumb it down for the lowest common denominator out there in TV land.

[ClydeFrog]

I didn't "hear" anything. The media report covering Casey Anthony's exfil from the county jail was a www.OrlandoSentinel.com reporter.
FWIW, I did happen to be close to downtown Orlando Florida when she & her lawyer Jose Biaz left the jail. There were approx 10 news helicopters & around 5 LE airships over the city!
It was like Just Cause in Panama(1989) or Bagdad Iraq(2003).

Clyde

[JERRYS.]

in news like in shooting sports, first is not always right.

[Fiskamon]

Well, yeah it is... Kinda sorta. Ever notice how every big piece of construction equipment is a "bulldozer" on the news? Doesn't mater if it is a rubber tire backhoe, an articulated end loader, a mobile crane, a RT forklift. They are all bulldozers when the evening news comes on.

Most of the time it's because the reporter doesn't know what they are talking about so they use a common term as a catch-all. This also happens because the audience of FAUX News/ABC/NBC/CBS are mostly mouth breathing idiots. The reporter has to dumb it down for the lowest common denominator out there in TV land.

Wrong, no one is trying to take a bulldozer out of the hands of contractors, they are trying to take our guns, so as far as I'm concerned, accuracy is paramount.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

While discussing media foibles is fun, can we skip saying that a particular person is an idiot (which they may well be) and discuss particulars of a mistake?

Also, to say a newsperson of a particular political cast is apriori an idiot flies against the evidence that newspersons of every political persuasion is not unlikely to be less than intelligent. The stupidity is quite evenly distributed.

I suggest watching any of the morning shows of both sides of the spectrum would demonstrate this.

[Buzzcook]

Reporters are mostly just stenographers.

In most cases the media gets its information on firearms involved in crimes from the police.

[44 AMP]

I now wonder if there is some kind of unspoken rule amongst police to deliberately mis-identify arms when talking to reporters. Assuming, of course the police doing the talking actually knew the correct terms in the first place....

Would tend to make the reporters look even more stupid...

[Tom Servo]

Assuming, of course the police doing the talking actually knew the correct terms in the first place.

Most cops aren't gun people any more. In fact, many have never touched a gun before their first day of academy.

The ones who take them seriously are the ones on the ground doing the hard and dangerous work. Those aren't the same ones who are doing media ops on the evening news.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

While I know quite a few police officers in the know - the higher the rank, the more likely they know less.

Political chiefs are what you expect.

[ClydeFrog]

I agree that many newer LE officers aren't "into" weapons or tactics but not all. About 2 years ago, I spoke to a young police officer in a urban area about sidearms. I told him how I used a Glock pistol to do my security re-qual.
What generation? he asked me.
He then went into a brief description of a few Glock pistols he shot & other models he used. It was refreshing to know that some new cops take the time & effort to learn about firearms & ballistics.

Clyde