THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503180027
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: REPORT TO READERS
SOURCE: Lynn Feigenbaum
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
``Norfolk State dorm adviser kept a gun,'' said a front-page headline earlier this month.
This wasn't just any gun. It was a 10 mm Ruger, according to the article which was trial coverage of a shooting last year.
But the story misfired on that point - the manufacturer, Sturm, Ruger & Co., says it has never made a 10 mm gun. And while you may not know a Ruger from a Luger, it matters to folks who know their guns. Folks like Portsmouth reader George C. Barnes, a gun hobbyist.
``It seems there is always a mistake made in regard to firearms,'' said Barnes, who pointed out the error.
This is a complaint I hear frequently from readers. And it's a touchy point since many feel the media have an agenda on the gun issue - a pro-gun control, anti-NRA agenda. Or they just feel we ought to get it right.
``Your newspaper has a tendency to be biased against weapons,'' said B-Cat Graham, a professional truck driver. He's called twice recently over newspaper references to an ``automatic pistol'' - a misnomer for a semiautomatic pistol.
``You have a tendency to do that and not care whether you got it right or not,'' said Graham.
A Virginia Beach man made the same point even more vividly. Some people who write about assault weapons, he said, ``wouldn't know one if you stuck it in their ear.''
Horrible thought, but I have to admit that we sometimes shoot our mouths off about weapons, referring to clips when we mean magazines, revolvers for pistols, bullets instead of cartridges.
Likewise, the phrase ``service revolver'' is outdated, says crime reporter Mike Mather. Revolvers have a revolving cylinder to hold their ammunition. Most police use semiautomatic pistols, with cartridges in a magazine.
``Sure, these are minor points,'' Mather recently instructed non-gun-toting staffers. ``But it goes to the heart of our credibility, just as it would if we inadvertently identifed an F-18 as an F-16.''
That may be why we had nearly a dozen calls last fall when a graphic about a gunman shooting at the White House said his weapon, an SKS semiautomatic, sprayed 600 rounds. Only a fully automatic weapon could fire off that many rounds, said our callers.
What is, or is not, an assault weapon is also frequently challenged by readers. But that's fairly clear-cut. A federal ban includes 19 specific semiautomatic military-style weapons as well as copycats and guns with a combination of features, such as a high-capacity magazine and a pistol grip.
Now that I've put us on the firing line, here comes another test of our gun prowess. A bill easing weapons permits is on Gov. George Allen's desk, which should spark another round of gun stories. Let's see how we do on that volley.
SEEING RED, NOT GREEN. Hugh J. Flynn is a native of County Donegall in Ireland and a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Virginia Beach. So I guess he's qualified to comment on our St. Patrick's Day coverage.
And comment he did, in a letter about Tuesday's Daily Break feature, ``How to make your St. Paddy's Day pop-ups.''
Flynn didn't approve of the term Paddy, which he said was ``a derogatory name for all Irish people or those of Irish Heritage. It is only fitting that the correct name and title be given to the great saint of the honored race. .
Staff writer Kerry Dougherty lived on the Emerald Isle and thinks the complaint is blarney. It's a nickname for Patrick, she said, ``and a sign of the esteem and affection people feel for their patron saint.''
Begorra, there's no consensus on this one.
A RUSH OF CALLS. If last Friday was St. Patrick's Day, the Friday before was Rush Limbaugh day - at least in the public editor's office.
Some two dozen people left virtually the same message: ``Stop lying about the school lunch program.''
It was mystifying because we hadn't written recently about school lunches. Then I learned the callers had been following instructions from the radio talk-show host to call news outlets.
Some embellished on Rush's message. ``I don't know if you did an article. . start printing the truth.''
Another male caller admitted he didn't read the newspaper.
So much for those complaints. Trouble is, if we do one day print those ``lies,'' will anybody care? MEMO: Call the public editor at 446-2475, or send a computer message to
lynn(AT)infi.net.
by CNB