‘Mass Shootings’ and the Current Zeitgeist

A shooting left one dead and 22 injured at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade this week, drawing media perspectives.

A Political Cudgel: Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review (Right bias) referenced a new report from ABC News (Lean Left bias) which said the shooting stemmed from a dispute between two juveniles. He criticized much of the media at large for coverage “invariably marked out by a fanatical obsession with gun-control and a total lack of interest in anything else.” Cooke pointed to the juveniles’ actions as all being illegal and having nothing to do with laws, and called the media’s coverage of the situation not fix-based, but rather a political cudgel.

Gun Owners Destroy America: The LA Times Editorial Board (Lean Left bias) said the shooting’s inability to qualify as a “mass shooting” demonstrates how mundane instances like it have become. It said the result of shootings, in any case, is terror, and that “People who so grievously misuse their gun rights are terrorists.” It concluded that “Americans with guns” are helping “foreign agents and domestic white supremacists who want to destroy the United States” to achieve their goal.

ESPN’s Coverage: An opinion from Tom Jones and Angela Fu of Poynter (Center bias) heralded ESPN (Lean Left bias) for speaking “emotionally yet eloquently about Wednesday’s horrific events” in its coverage. It also criticized Fox News (Right bias) TV program The Five for simultaneously discussing Florida being tough on crime and the “decline” of California while ESPN aired its coverage.