The formal media continues to play a role in this vigorous debate. Today, every person with a smart phone is now a walking reporter. News channels can air footage of shootings and events practically as they are occurring. As I mentioned in the page on gun control activists, many gun advocates criticize media outlets for airing such graphic footage as they believe it dramatizes the events and allows them to steer viewers into supporting gun control laws. Nonetheless, the line between formal media and informal media can become so blurred--and non-formal media has such a following now--that it if viewers didn't see footage on the big news outlets, they would most likely still see it somewhere.
Politicians who are interviewed for their opinions on some legislation may also be members of the NRA or support the Brady Campaign. But it is not just in Washington that a revolving door exists. The same politician could just as easily Tweet her opinions and reach a potentially larger audience. Real time footage on a news reel can come from any person who happened to catch the best angle on their phone. Sites like Buzzfeed and the Huffington post have a much larger writer base and report stories as they are developing. Formal media has a role, but the distinction between who now counts as formal media and who counts as media (or a reliable source) is becoming increasingly blurry. Following are some examples of media reporting on these issues.
Politicians who are interviewed for their opinions on some legislation may also be members of the NRA or support the Brady Campaign. But it is not just in Washington that a revolving door exists. The same politician could just as easily Tweet her opinions and reach a potentially larger audience. Real time footage on a news reel can come from any person who happened to catch the best angle on their phone. Sites like Buzzfeed and the Huffington post have a much larger writer base and report stories as they are developing. Formal media has a role, but the distinction between who now counts as formal media and who counts as media (or a reliable source) is becoming increasingly blurry. Following are some examples of media reporting on these issues.
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