Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Outrage Of The Week 6/24/11

Friday, June 24, 2011

"Impartial" Journalist Turns Activist:  A recent article by Chad D. Baus featured on the Buckeye Firearms Association website examined the biased, unethical, and unprofessional practice of "advocacy journalism" as it relates to the gun debate.  Bias in the media -- especially when it concerns the Second Amendment and "gun control" -- is certainly not a new concept, but the article describes one of the most blatant cases we've seen to date. 

In this particular instance, Baus describes a series of articles written by journalist Theodore Decker and recently published in The Columbus Dispatch, which decry what the articles portray as rampant gun violence in Ohio.  The three-part series, entitled "Overrun by Guns," includes all of the typical one-sided arguments (with no mention at all of defensive uses of firearms) and anti-gun talking points. 

But the articles, it turns out, are not just anti-gun pontifications of a journalist who is bold enough not to care about his biased portrayal.  Instead, Baus reveals that the anti-gun series was funded by a grant from the vehemently anti-gun Joyce Foundation and that the intent of the series was to "have a major public policy impact" on gun violence in Ohio.

And it gets worse.  According to Baus, grant recipients attended a "skills workshop" where they were "indoctrinated with speeches by spokespersons from Joyce Foundation-funded anti-gun rights organizations including Legal Community Against Gun Violence and the Violence Policy Center."  Later, Baus notes, the journalists attended yet another seminar that included as panelists "the Chief of Staff to the Office of Justice Programs at the Obama administration's Department of Justice, and the President of the anti-gun rights ACLU."

What we have, then is an "activist" journalist, who is commissioned by an anti-gun organization to write a series of "advocacy" articles intended to affect public policy, under the guise of respectable, unbiased newspaper reporting.  That is outrageous.

To read the full article, please click here.

TRENDING NOW
CPRC’s Latest Report Outlines the Robust State of Concealed Carry in America

News  

Monday, December 22, 2025

CPRC’s Latest Report Outlines the Robust State of Concealed Carry in America

Dr. John Lott’s Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) has released its latest annual report on the state of concealed carry in the United States. 

Minnesota: Governor Walz Issues Two Gun Control Executive Orders

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Minnesota: Governor Walz Issues Two Gun Control Executive Orders

With the holiday season upon us, former VP candidate Governor Tim Walz has once again proven his "Bah Humbug" stance on the Second Amendment. 

DOJ (Again) Goes to Court to Defend 2A

News  

Monday, December 22, 2025

DOJ (Again) Goes to Court to Defend 2A

We recently reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had created a new section under its Civil Rights Division—the first ever dedicated to protecting the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.  

DOJ Defends Federal Firearms Registration in NRA Challenge to the NFA

Thursday, December 18, 2025

DOJ Defends Federal Firearms Registration in NRA Challenge to the NFA

In the NRA’s case, Brown v. ATF, the Department of Justice filed its opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, along with its own cross-motion, defending the National Firearms Act of 1934’s registration requirement for suppressors, short-barreled ...

SCOTUS Denies Cert in NRA-ILA Challenge to NFA Short-Barreled Rifle Restrictions

Monday, December 15, 2025

SCOTUS Denies Cert in NRA-ILA Challenge to NFA Short-Barreled Rifle Restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Rush v. United States, a challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles.

Evidence of Firearm Industry “Debanking” Uncovered as Trump Administration Takes Aim at Discriminatory Practices

News  

Monday, December 22, 2025

Evidence of Firearm Industry “Debanking” Uncovered as Trump Administration Takes Aim at Discriminatory Practices

President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order earlier this year on “politicized or unlawful debanking” and so-called “reputational risk” assessments that financial institutions used in denying services because of a customer’s political or religious beliefs ...

Gun Control Advocate to Lead Duke Center for Firearms Law

News  

Monday, December 22, 2025

Gun Control Advocate to Lead Duke Center for Firearms Law

“Developing Firearms Law as a Scholarly Field” is a worthy endeavor and exactly what the Duke Center for Firearms Law proclaims on their website as the Center’s mission. 

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

In September, the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Virginia: Gun Control Looms on the Horizon – Make Plans to Attend Lobby Day in January!

Monday, December 22, 2025

Virginia: Gun Control Looms on the Horizon – Make Plans to Attend Lobby Day in January!

Anti-gun legislators in Richmond have already begun filing legislation ahead of the upcoming Virginia General Assembly session. 

New Jersey: Senate Vote on Gun Bills Scheduled for Next Week

Friday, December 19, 2025

New Jersey: Senate Vote on Gun Bills Scheduled for Next Week

The gun-grabbing grinches of Trenton do not take a holiday break from trying to steal more rights from Garden State gun owners. As lawmakers spend December wrapping up a “lame duck” session, many gun bills ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.