Time and Place
The news on Saturday evening was dominated by word that a 33-year-old man named Mauricio Garcia opened fire at an open-air mall in Allen, Texas, killing eight and wounding seven others before being killed himself by a brave police officer with Army training who was in the area on other duty. The motive for the shooting is still not clear.
Within only a few hours, before the shooter was identified and before we knew other key details like how many casualties there were, what weapons were used, or the background of the shooter…journalism as we used to know it took another hit.
I was switching between various news outlets, and saw one of the guests on multiple channels was the congressman from the area; he offered some key information before law enforcement had time for a formal briefing.
It was the exchange that took place on CNN after his interview with them that struck me as inappropriate. After the congressman was off the air, the anchor returned to dialogue with a three-person panel.
She focused on her questioning of the congressman—not about the shooting, but about gun control. She noted to the panel that he had “punted” (her phrase) when given multiple opportunities to respond to her question about limiting guns; specifically, that wasn’t it time that he as an elected official charged with making policy for Americans stood up and supported gun control legislation. Then she asked the panel to react to his lack of commitment to gun control.
I don’t know what the panel’s reaction was, because I had had enough and turned away; but I’m guessing it centered on praise for her for holding his feet to the fire, etc.
There’s a time and place for such conversations…and it’s not during an active crime scene. The left counters that it’s the perfect time, but I disagree. It’s no time for a TV anchor to focus on gun control when the guest has information about the actual crime that was committed.
But when the mantra is to never let a good crisis go to waste…I suppose I’m not really surprised. Just disappointed.
