Reporting on Guns and Self Defense

I wear my sunglasses at night
So I can, so I can
Watch you weave
Then breathe your story lines
--Corey Hart

Last week there was the story of a mom who shot a home intruder in self defense. Earlier this week a Milwaukee store owner pulled a gun on a robber, causing him to flee.

While it is good to see some of these stories making the news, these cases continue to be under-reported, and when they are reported, use of guns in actions of self-defense are often downplayed. When asked why this might be, one liberal reporter responded that it was just bad reporting.

But more than one reporter on more than one story has 'reported badly' on this type of situation.

This is what systemic media bias looks like. Such bias is not necessarily conspiratorial. It is more likely the result of a group of reporters viewing the world through a similar ideological lens, which causes these reporters to interpret information in a similar manner.

Groseclose suggests that such biases can be reduced by mixing reporters with other biases into the media mix, or by getting reporters with certain biases to hang with people who have different biases. This is probably occurring, albeit slowly, as the industry fragments.

Meanwhile, here is a report that compiles various cases where guns were used in self defense. The interactive map is particularly interesting.