I happen to love Huffington Post (unapologetic liberal, here, but I try to be moderate about it), so it was easy to jump on the website for this week's blog assignment.
And maybe this is just my brain having a difficult time switching gears from our readings (which is a good thing), but I've never noticed just how superficial HuffPo can be. Headlines like "RiRi's Beach Body" and "Gaga Drops $$$" occupy the same space as "John Kerry's Wife Hospitalized" and "Crew Tried to Abort Landing Seconds Before Crash," which makes my head a little spiny. When did we as a society decide Kanye West's activities are on par with the Government Protests in Egypt and that we're okay with that?
My cynical side immediately begins to whisper "Breads and Circuses," but I digress. My selection for the assignment? A short article with four citations:
Armed demonstrators gathered outside the Texas capitol building in Austin on Wednesday, seeking to highlight the state's right to openly carry rifles. While some were unsettled by the display, the protesters said the event was designed to get people accustomed to the weapons and show that those carrying them were normal citizens.
"That's why we're here. Trying to make people feel more at ease, so they don't feel that way," said Scott Smith, a member of the group Open Carry Texas, which organized the event.
Spectators weren't the only ones made uneasy by the firearms. Members of the group came with their guns loaded, according to KEYE-TV, which at one point prompted troopers stationed at the capitol to ask the protesters to consider removing the magazines from their rifles. They declined, noting that they were within their rights to have live rounds in their weapons.
Later in the day, demonstrators attempted to enter the state capitol building with their guns out. They were turned away by a trooper, who told them that while concealed handguns were permitted inside, their semi-automatic assault rifles weren't.
In Colorado, other gun rights activists used Independence Day to rally for their cause. Members of a local tea party group brought their weapons to a parade in Custer County, Colo. on Thursday, though theirs were reportedly not loaded.
The sources cited in the article were as follows (listed in order of appearance, as hyperlinked in the article & text above):
Protesters Openly Carry Guns during Texas Capitol Rally
Protesters Confront Troopers at Texas State Capitol
Protesters Confront Troopers at Texas State Capitol
The article was written by HuffingtonPost staffer Nick Wing, who has a mix of straight-forward news articles (AJ Marin, Pennsylvania Activist, Arrested for Writing Pro-Healthcare Message in Chalk) and opinion articles (A Year after Supreme Court Ruling, Obamacare is Still Constitutional, Nation Still hasn't Imploded) in his publishing history with the website. Beyond that, no further information is given about Mr. Wing, including his background, education, or training, or publications of the scholarly or otherwise professional persuasion.
Seeing as this is a straightforward report on an event which occurred at the Texas State Capitol, the use of local news outlets (75% of his source material) and the New York Times to round out his source material is encouraging, and there is an absence of personal bias in the article. Each source falls under the category of News and Journalistic Sites, according to the Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources in our Module 3 assignment resources.
Mr. Wing covers the 5 W's and H in this article, making it informative and concise:
Who: Demonstrators, Gun Enthusiasts, and members of Open Carry Texas
What: The demonstrators made passersby and members of the Texas State Police uneasy by assembling with a large cache of loaded weapons, and were denied entry to the Capitol due to safety concerns
Where: Texas State Capitol - Austin, Texas
When: July 3, 2013
Why: "...the protesters said the event was designed to get people accustomed to the weapons and show that those carrying them were normal citizens."
How: Second Amendement Right to Bear Arms, First Amendement Right to Assemble
All source material is current, with the exception of the New York Times Article, An Entry Reserved for Those With Guns. However, this article (published in March 2013) was used as background for the group's attempt at entry into the Capitol: A majority of Texas Legislators have concealed carry permits and exercise their right to carry firearms with them while within the walls of the Capitol, and it has been stated numerous times that there is an ease within the Capitol regarding the presence of firearms. This sentiment reflects the desires of the group, Open Carry Texas, and thought it would be enough to permit entry.
The article is overall well rounded, objective, and informative, making it a great source of information. But there was a lot of research necessary to make that determination, and that is far more than most people are willing to do when reading the news themselves. This makes the role of the responsible journalist all the more important.
Seeing as this is a straightforward report on an event which occurred at the Texas State Capitol, the use of local news outlets (75% of his source material) and the New York Times to round out his source material is encouraging, and there is an absence of personal bias in the article. Each source falls under the category of News and Journalistic Sites, according to the Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources in our Module 3 assignment resources.
Mr. Wing covers the 5 W's and H in this article, making it informative and concise:
Who: Demonstrators, Gun Enthusiasts, and members of Open Carry Texas
What: The demonstrators made passersby and members of the Texas State Police uneasy by assembling with a large cache of loaded weapons, and were denied entry to the Capitol due to safety concerns
Where: Texas State Capitol - Austin, Texas
When: July 3, 2013
Why: "...the protesters said the event was designed to get people accustomed to the weapons and show that those carrying them were normal citizens."
How: Second Amendement Right to Bear Arms, First Amendement Right to Assemble
All source material is current, with the exception of the New York Times Article, An Entry Reserved for Those With Guns. However, this article (published in March 2013) was used as background for the group's attempt at entry into the Capitol: A majority of Texas Legislators have concealed carry permits and exercise their right to carry firearms with them while within the walls of the Capitol, and it has been stated numerous times that there is an ease within the Capitol regarding the presence of firearms. This sentiment reflects the desires of the group, Open Carry Texas, and thought it would be enough to permit entry.
The article is overall well rounded, objective, and informative, making it a great source of information. But there was a lot of research necessary to make that determination, and that is far more than most people are willing to do when reading the news themselves. This makes the role of the responsible journalist all the more important.
Nice job, but stories like this make me worried for my sister and her family. The live in Texas!
ReplyDelete