It’s no secret that ‘we the people’ have favorite news channels for those who even watch the news anymore. And usually, our favorites are determined by the political bias or lack thereof a certain network has.
For example, Fox News has long been a favorite of those with more conservative views. The network and its commentators have done well in years past to report on issues like gun rights, abortion bans, and even the support of politicians like former GOP President Donald Trump.
In contrast, CNN has been seen as a constant friend of those on the left-leaning side of the aisle. When Biden makes a mistake, they defend him. When Hunter’s criminal enterprises are found out, they cover it up. And when Trump is being seen as a criminal, they blast it to kingdom come.
However, what the latter network has learned via ratings and such over the last year or so is that all that bias isn’t really getting them anywhere – unless being at the bottom is the goal. And so, they, or at least the new leadership behind the network, are making some changes.
One of those changes is hiring gun expert and analyst Stephen Gutowski as a commentator. If you know of the man, it’s likely because he runs the gun policy website The Reload.
As he describes his job, he has been hired to offer “sober, serious” reporting on firearm ownership and gun culture in the United States.
He, like many in the US, knows that when guns are usually reported on, it is done so in a very discriminatory way, typically portraying the firearm itself as the reason someone got hurt or was killed. Additionally, those reporting often have little to no gun experience and are often very uninformed and ignorant on anything gun related, which only tends to add to the bias against guns and their owners.
And so Gutowski has been hired to do some informing, to “produce nuanced segments to dig into the issues surrounding guns in a way that informs rather than inflames.”
To be sure, it sounds like a good idea. I mean, how can anyone form any kind of real and informed opinion on something as important as gun rights and ownership if they’ve never actually heard the facts outside of gun violence rates?
Of course, the liberal loonies who usually watch CNN aren’t exactly thrilled about this decision.
According to one fan (a Democratic strategist), the network is “making friends with the scum of the earth” by hiring Gutowski. Another, the founder of gun control group Moms Demand Action recently blasted CNN for hiring a “gun industry ally.”
For the rest of us, it’s a good sign for CNN. According to one conservative, it’s one of the “best media hiring decisions in years.”
But let’s not get too carried away. Why?
Well, for starters, Gutowski isn’t exactly what one would call a Second Amendment rights activist. Neither is he an apologist for gun rights.
Instead, as both he and CNN have said, his job will be to provide facts and “legal niceties” of state and federal gun laws. At times this may side more with those who love and appreciate our gun rights. But at others, it may leave us vulnerable, taking the side of those who would rather take those rights away.
As he said, his job will be to inform.
Still, I would say it’s a move in the right direction. If anything, it will give CNN a bit more balance, which is precisely the goal according to network leadership. In fact, leaders of its parent channel have recently decided to begin pushing out some of those who might make CNN look all too left-leaning. You know, those like Brian Stelter and John Harwood.
Replacing them will be personalities like Gutowski – ones that might not exactly be right-leaning but aren’t the opposite either. Then, perhaps the network can begin growing again and lose its reputation as the liberal progressives’ propaganda wing.
As I said, it’s a start, right?
