The ceaseless torrent of anti-gun commentary from the New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, and other “mainstream” media outlets, apparently isn’t enough for billionaire firearm prohibitionist Michael Bloomberg. On May 8, Capital reported that the ex-mayor of New York is developing a “news operation” to work alongside his Everytown for Gun Safety organization in furtherance of his megalomaniacal gun control agenda.
To steer his propaganda outfit, Bloomberg has hired former New Republic editor James Burnett, who departed the left-leaning magazine during its recent high-profile shake-up. Also on board is Jennifer Mascia, formerly of the New York Times, whose duties were described by Capital as “news and editorial assistant.” Mascia’s participation underscores the extent of the anti-gun bias at the Times.
This project is yet another illustration of Bloomberg’s ego-driven zeal to control other Americans and diminish, not just their rights, but their access to reliable information about their rights. Of course, Bloomberg’s existing media empire is already being used to attack gun rights and the NRA, albeit alongside promoting other Bloomberg-backed causes. The mainstream national media outlets, moreover, are firmly within the gun control camp. They uncritically treat Everytown’s bogus “reports” and press releases as newsworthy, and their “investigative journalism” is often barely-disguised gun control advocacy. Even so, nothing but a full-time, dedicated anti-gun operation will satisfy Bloomberg’s need to see nothing but his own opinion reflected back at him.
News of Bloomberg’s new disinformation campaign came three weeks before Everytown is set to host a two-day anti-gun indoctrination camp for “journalists.” On May 29 and 30, Everytown, in concert with the Columbia Journalism School’s Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, will offer journalists a workshop in “guns and gun violence,” in Phoenix, Ariz. According to the Dart Center, the workshop will feature “independent expert briefings and specialized reporting skills training to enhance the practical ability of journalists to report on guns and gun violence knowledgeably, ethically and effectively.” How a one-sided seminar funded by a billionaire’s pet interest group furthers ethical reporting is anyone’s guess, but the event may provide a handy recruiting platform to staff Bloomberg’s new media machine.
Unfortunately, Bloomberg is not alone in perverting traditional notions of journalistic integrity, and his hires aren’t the first “journalists” to cross the line from journalist to media flack, or vice versa. President Obama recently called for bringing about a change to “how the media reports” on certain issues to more closely conform to his own view of the world. George Stephanopoulos moved from the Clinton campaign war room, to the Clinton administration, and then landed at ABC where he is tasked with delivering the “news.” Now, Stephanopoulos is having to defend his credibility as a reporter after disclosures that he funneled tens of thousands of dollar he earned in that profession back to the Clinton Foundation.
Needless to say, NRA has its own messaging components, including the one you’re reading right now. We wholeheartedly support gun rights, and we’re proud to proclaim that fact. In one sense, we have the easier job, as facts, history, and the Constitution are on our side. Yet with the anti-gun echo chamber encompassing the White House, academia, big media, Hollywood, and much of the legal and medical professions, the pro-gun view of the world rarely gets the attention it deserves in a nation of over 300 million guns and 100 million gun owners. We’re here to see that it does, and the addition of yet another Bloomberg funded voice to the anti-gun cacophony will only give us more misinformation to set straight.
