NBC Nightly News on Sunday devoted the first 14 minutes of the newscast to a single story: The shootings that unfolded in four major cities during the previous night. While the wave of horrific mass shootings garner nationwide attention, “far more Americans are killed in smaller incidents” across the country each night, Kate Snow, who anchors on Sundays, said at the top of the broadcast. Snow and three other correspondents worked overnight shifts in different cities to capture “how gun violence is destroying communities and plaguing our country.”
Gun violence is an issue that has plagued the United States for years. ABC News hopes its efforts to track the problem across a recent week will shed new light on it. The Disney-backed news outlet is on Sunday launching One Nation Under Fire, a new project in conjunction with news staffers at ABC’s owned stations that hopes to explore the root causes of gun violence by tracking a week of shootings across the U.S. from July 17 to July 24.
Fox News host Shepard Smith predicted that no change will come from the latest mass shootings, noting that the cycle of gun violence will continue “yet again in America.” The anchor delivered a powerful monologue about gun violence on Shepard Smith Reporting Monday following weekend massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
America must face its problem with gun violence, the Disney CEO said Tuesday, citing the long list of mass shootings in the United States. Those shootings prompted little in the way of legislation. “These are incidents that touch everybody,” Iger said. “Where is the outrage here? This is a huge crisis for our country. We should demand a dialogue about this from our politicians.”
Exclusives
Latenight hosts dedicated a portion of their Monday night shows to speak out about gun violence in the wake of the tragic events that unfolded in Las Vegas on Sunday night. Jimmy Kimmel choked up in an emotional response to the deadly attack, while Seth Meyers had a pointed message for Congress.
Most Gun Violence Reporting Misses The Mark
Gun lover, journalist and author Dan Baum says reporters aren’t doing a good enough job informing themselves — and the public — about guns and firearm enthusiasts. Reporting on guns often uses the “cheap and emotional tactic” of playing up victims’ pain, he says.“That’s bullshit; that’s not reporting.” Poynter is addressing the issue with its second workshop designed to “improve the accuracy and depth of coverage of America’s gun debate, without deference to any political agenda or special interests.”
Following last year’s Newtown shootings, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council proposes investigating the causes of gun-related violence that includes examining video games and other media.
