ABC News Throws Bias in Gun Debate Story

When is a news story really an opinion piece? In our opinion – no pun intended – it is anytime an argument is made that supports one side of the issue. ABC News did a pretty good job in a story about the gun ban debate raging at Colorado State University. How else do you explain this bias that begins the story:

“Every campus shooting – including the one 11 days ago at the University of Alabama – reignites the debate over whether students and faculty should be allowed to carry concealed guns into college classrooms. Most colleges already ban the practice, but one of the last holdouts in the country, Colorado State, is just now finalizing plans to ban firearms on campus.”

In a news story there shouldn’t be this type of one-sided introduction. In fact, this type of intro is more suited to a straight up editorial. We’d like to ask whether every shooting in the country, campus or otherwise, really reignites the debate. First, does the debate every really cool down, and why is only in times of tragedy that this issue is brought up?

In fairness, the second paragraph is less biased:

“That is not sitting well with many students who argue that a full ban actually puts them in more danger.”

But the way this story is crafted, it brings up the shootings first, suggesting to the reader that Colorado State is wrong – the article does call the university a holdout after all. This is a simple writing tactic, where the author can shift opinion with just a few words – proving the pen (or keyboard) is mightier than the sword.