AP A Lesson In Leaping To Conclusions

Giffords story: A lesson in leaping to conclusions
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The rapidly replicated false report that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had died after being shot in the head provided media outlets another lesson this weekend in the danger of leaping to conclusions. NPR News’ executive editor apologized Sunday to Giffords’ family for the false report. That story came only an hour after NPR scored a significant scoop in reporting on Saturday’s shooting in Tucson, Ariz. itself. Media organizations also faced scrutiny for...

Media Outlets Apologize After Falsely Reporting Giffords' Death
PASADENA, Calif. — The rapidly replicated false report that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had died after being shot in the head provided media outlets another lesson this weekend in the danger of leaping to conclusions. NPR News' executive editor apologized Sunday to Giffords' family for the false report. That story came only an hour after NPR scored a significant scoop in reporting on Saturday's shooting in Tucson, Ariz., itself. Media organizations also faced scrutiny for how they speculated...

In Rush To Get It First, NPR, CNN Get It Wrong On Giffords Story
It’s been almost thirty years since the shooting of President Ronald Reagan and a resulting moment of frustration on live television, when ABC News anchor Frank Reynolds , who’d been told wounded White House Press Secretary James Brady had died-only to be told moments later the report was false (Brady survived)-said the words that ring in many Journalists’ minds to this day: “let’s nail it down, let’s get it right.” The dual drives of getting...

Look who else put 'bull's-eye' on Giffords
Shortly after news broke of the Attempted Murder of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., the left-leaning blog Daily Kos was swift to scrub its post from a Tucson writer explaining how the congresswoman was now "dead to me." One of the blog's diary writers, identifying himself as BoyBlue, had written a post only two days before the shooting titled "My CongressWOMAN voted against Nancy Pelosi! And is now DEAD to me!" "I am from the Tucson area and live in Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' district...

About Tucson: Stupid people and crazy people may not know they are, but dishonest people sure do
According to today's Borowitz Report (see below), "Calls for a reduction in violent political Rhetoric have plunged the Fox News Channel into chaos, with a Fox spokesperson warning today that such a move 'would leave us with 24 hours to fill.'” by Ken I thought Paul Krugman said what needed to be said about the political climate that made Tucson ineviteable very well indeed in the NYT column today, "Climate of Hate," from which Howie quoted extensively this morning. As a footnote, I'd like t...

Late Night: Not the Best Day to Be Sarah Palin
As Jane noted earlier today, Sarah Palin awoke on Sunday to find herself at the fiery center of the debate about increased violent political Rhetoric in this country. And as usual, Palin — scratch that — Palin’s handlers paint her as the real Victim of the Arizona tragedy. Everyone makes mistakes. But anyone waiting for Sarah Palin to acknowledge she might have made one here is going to have some time on their hands.  Following the Tucson shooting, Palin’s aide disingenuou...

Sarah Palin blamed for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shooting
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords may be the Victim of more than bullet. Two years of mean-spirited conservative Rhetoric may have sparked the assignation attempt, according to reports. On Sarah Palin’s website, there was a map of the United States with gun targets placed over democratic lawmakers. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was one of the targets. Since the shooting on Saturday, the SarahPAC target map has been removed. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann said, “if there are crosshairs ...

Arizona Heroine: 'I Was Wondering How It Was Going To Feel To Be Shot'
What is this? Along with the heartbreaking stories of tragedy following Saturday's killings in Tucson, Ariz., there are the heartwarming stories of heroic acts by folks who more than rose to the occasion. On Morning Edition, NPR's Martin Kaste told us about 61-year-old Patricia Maisch, who grabbed a clip from the gunman as he apparently tried to reload. Patricia Maisch. "I was laying on the ground," she says, "and I was wondering how it was going to feel to be shot." The suspect, 22-year-old Jar...

Lauren Ashburn: Rep. Giffords Dead Before Alive
The cardinal rule of journalism is simple. Get it right or don't report it. Especially when it comes to matters of life and death. This weekend during live coverage of the Tucson shootings the media - in its rush to beat the competition - got it wrong over and over again. Sadly, the errors - including one-source reporting and anonymous sources - are not isolated cases. In fact, the journalism bar has dropped so low that mistakes of this magnitude don't seem to cause a ripple of frustration let...

Arizona Heroine: 'I Was Wondering How It Was Going To Feel To Be Shot'
What is this? Along with the heartbreaking stories of tragedy following Saturday's killings in Tucson, Ariz., there are the heartwarming stories of heroic acts by folks who more than rose to the occasion. On Morning Edition, NPR's Martin Kaste told us about 61-year-old Patricia Maisch, who grabbed a clip from the gunman as he apparently tried to reload. Patricia Maisch. "I was laying on the ground," she says, "and I was wondering how it was going to feel to be shot." The suspect, 22-year-old Jar...

Video: Progressive Left wing Twitter nuts wish death on Sarah Palin
Video: Progressive Left Wing Twitter nuts wish death on Sarah Palin User @Newswatch89 posted a YouTube video of the vile, disgusting “peace loving, NOH8″ progressive liberal left wishing death on Sarah Palin. Of course, according to them, fueled by the vitriol and Rhetoric of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and their pundits, its Sarah Palin’s fault that the Tucson shootings over the past weekend occurred. Warning: If you choose the watch the video showing the tweets of the disgusting pro...

Obama Headed to Tucson for Wednesday Memorial
Hmm, Obama is attending this memorial Wednesday in Tucson, but when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in Arizona in December, it was enough just to send Secretary Janet Napolitano to the memorial. kold.com Two senior administration officials say President Obama will travel to Tucson on Wednesday to attend a memorial service for the Victims of last weekend's shooting rampage . Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is in critical condition after being shot in the head Saturday. Si...

Editor's Note: On NPR's Giffords Coverage
Dick Meyer is executive editor of NPR News. In the course of reporting on the tragic events in Tucson on Saturday, NPR broadcast erroneous information in our 2:01 p.m. Eastern newscast, saying that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona had been shot and killed. That information briefly appeared on NPR.org and was contained in an e-mail news alert sent to subscribers of that service. Thankfully, Rep. Giffords is alive today, though sadly other Victims of the shootings are not. This was a serious and...

Weiss ouster criticized
Weiss, senior vice president for news, was forced to resign Friday for her dismissal of commentator Juan Williams. Williams, who had been with NPR since 2000, was forced out in October for remarks he made about Muslims on Fox News. Ira Glass, who worked for Weiss as a 19-year-old intern, called her the "greatest." Glass now hosts "This American Life," produced by Public Radio International, which competes with NPR. "As a Journalist and a manager, she's an ally for everything good in public radio...

Joe Peyronnin: Free Speech
On the day when America collectively observed a moment of silence for Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other Victims of Saturday's shootings in Tucson, a war of words broke out over the role "vitriol" played in the incident, even though there probably is no link. And the argument reflected the deep division that has roiled this country over the past few years. Most interesting was the apparent admission by Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, in an interview with GlobalGrind.com founder Rus...

What is violent rhetoric?
As someone who teaches Rhetoric, I can only say that I’ve been profoundly disappointed in the quality of the conversation about the Assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords.  Despite all the condemnation of everyone else’s “violent Rhetoric,” I’ve yet to see one post in which the term itself is defined.  It seems to mean, in the current political vernacular, anything said by someone else that involves anything even remotely violent.  Katrina Trinko’s att

Auburn-Oregon Party, Tucson Tragedy = An Emotional 3 Days for Arizona
In a cruel twist of timing, the eyes of the nation focused on Arizona on Monday – not because of the Tucson shooting rampage Saturday that left six dead and 14 wounded. Instead, the center of attention had moved by Monday afternoon about 125 miles north to Glendale, where the BCS national Championship Game was set to be played. Certainly the day was filled with reflection and remembrances related to the devastating attack on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and people who had stopped at a shop...

Arizona gunman in court as Obama leads mourning
The man accused of trying to assassinate a congresswoman in an Arizona Shooting Spree that left six dead appeared in court but said nothing to shed light on his motive. President Barack Obama led the American nation in a somber minute of silence to honor the 20 people gunned down in Tucson -- where he will attend a memorial service on Wednesday, the White House announced. Flags were at half-staff at the Capitol in Washington, where hundreds of aides and lawmakers crammed the storied steps of Con...

Humor writer names Olbermann a target after Giffords shooting
Source: Raw Story ‘Humor writer’ names Olbermann a ‘target’ after Giffords shooting By Nathan Diebenow Sunday, January 9th, 2011 -- 10:36 pm Humor writer names Olbermann a target after Giffords shootingA self-described humorist named a liberal Cable News host a "target" on her blog the day after he denounced incendiary political Rhetoric in response to an Arizona shooting that claimed the lives of six people, including a Federal Judge, a congressperson's aide, and a child. Andrea Rouda's

Tucson Victims in Wrong Place at Wrong Time
A Janitor, A Judge, and An Aide Were Victims in Saturday's Shooting in Tucson, Ariz, Targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Like this Story? Share it: As the investigation continues into 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, the main suspect in the Tucson shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, Dean Reynolds reports on the other victims. (CBS) From a judge to a janitor, the victims in Saturday's shooting in Tucson, Ariz., targeting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords were all caught in the wrong place at the wron...

The Six Victims Killed in Saturday's Shooting
As the investigation continues into 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, the main suspect in the Tucson shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, Dean Reynolds reports on the other Victims. Rep. Giffords Heavily Sedated after Attack (CBS/ AP) From a judge to a janitor, the victims killed in Saturday's shooting in Tucson, Ariz., targeting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords were all caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports that C.J. Karamargin, Giffords' commun...

Inside the Beltway
THE FAULTY PRESS News coverage of the Arizona shooting showcased a wide spray of partisan attacks in the 48 hours that followed the tragedy, with Collateral Damage and much talk of political Rhetoric and biased media coverage. A charged environment, intense public interest and minimal facts led to extrapolation, error, blame and instant agenda. "This is a horrendous act of violence. But does it surprise you, in the context of the bitterness of Arizona politics at the moment?" asked ABC News co...

Fox News: The No. 1 Name in Murder Fantasies
Monday 10 January 2011 by: Steve Rendall | FAIR | News Analysis This is a re-post of a November 10, 2010 piece from Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) which is particularly relevant to the conversation about the Shooting Spree in Arizona on Saturday. Bill O'Reilly's recent "joke" about decapitating Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank was only the latest example of a demented Fox News culture that permits on-air personalities to fantasize about Assassination and other forms of violen...

Bad Sociology
On Sept. 6, 1901, President William McKinley, who had survived the battle of Antietam, was shaking hands at a Buffalo exposition when Leon Czolgosz approached, a handkerchief wrapped around his right hand, concealing a gun. Czolgosz, an Anarchist, fired two shots. Czolgosz (“I killed the president because he was the enemy of the good people - the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime.”) was executed, not explained. Now we have explainers. They came into vogue with th...

On the Tucson shooting
This is going to come out like a disjointed rant. I don't care - that is what it is. OK, I've had enough. This did it for me.AT THE DIRECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE United States, THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES SHALL BE FLOWN AT HALF-STAFF UPON RECEIPT OF THIS MESSAGE, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, IN HONOR OR THE Shooting VictimS IN Tucson, Arizona. FURTHER GUIDANCE WILL BE PASSED UPON RECEIPT AS TO THE DURATION OF THIS HALF-STAFFING OBSERVANCE. THE FLAG SHALL BE FLOWN AT HALF-STAFF ON ALL DEPARTMENT ...