Spocko on Shootings & Spin

Crooks and Liars’ resident writer Spocko has recently written an interesting editorial on gun control entitled “How To Get More Than ‘Routine Media Coverage’ From Your State’s Mass Shooting.” In it, Spocko argues that the key to changing our national perception on gun control is by seizing control of how mainstream media represents the controversy. This has been argued vehemently before, by Spocko in particular as well as many others writing for Crooks and Liars, but Spocko has found a pragmatic approach to reversing the public numbness towards continual mass shootings.

The idea is to sell the story to the media as sensationalism, since only profitable drama trumps the naive objectivity practiced by much of today’s mainstream media. Spocko advises liberals to keep the political opponents of gun control center stage in the court of public opinion. The goal is to scandalize the American public, creating a viral backlash much like what has befallen certain over-scrutinized celebrities. In a way, this echoes the tactics of Andy Parker, the father of a slain Virginian journalist who has seized the media’s attention by calling out politicians by name, labeling anti-gun control politicians as “cowards.”

It really is not surprising that Crooks and Liars is openly arguing to propagandize gun control and demonize its opponents, since the blog is a bit of a repository for the most unabashedly biased of liberals. That being said, Spocko’s suggestion has the potential to be very effective. As mainstream media turns more towards soft journalism to keep profits coming, it might be worth a trojan horse or two getting through to get the public talking about the welfare of our country. Whether morally dubious or simply practical politics, Spocko’s advice is worth a read.