Tuesday, February 5, 2013


Obama skeet-shooting photo spurs debate ahead of gun-control talk



http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2013/02/obama_skeet-shooting_photo_spu.html

In light of all of the recent shootings and our 'blue-hooded bandit' (as we named him in an article in The Post yesterday: http://thepost.ohiou.edu/content/many-oupd-crime-alerts-stay-active) that we had a discussion about in class last Thursday, I found this Plain Dealer story to be interesting.

Gun control is obviously a huge concern in politics today. I would argue that President Obama is one of the presidents that has had to deal with this issue the most (if not, the president that has had to deal with this issue the most). However, two days before he promotes his gun control proposals, Obama was photographed aiming a gun at a shooting range, obviously stirring controversy.

I chose this article, as I said above, because gun control is a dominant issue in society today. From a journalistic standpoint, I wanted to share this article with you guys because I thought that it was well-written and included some interesting points of views (I found the NRA interesting in particular) and I think the photo was great and is an awesome action shot for those of you with any desire to pursue photojournalism. However, I think that what makes web stories really engaging is when they include video interviews, pull out quotes, and other visuals to catch the reader's attention. Today, many people just read fast facts on the go and things like that, but with a controversial story (many people have strong feelings about gun control one way or the other these days), I think it can really help to draw the reader in to look at everything on the page.

On an unrelated note, sorry this wasn't up sooner, guys!

18 comments:

  1. KYLE WIGGERS: It's certainly interesting, if not unusual, to see an Associated Press story on Cleveland.com. I know many local news websites purchase AP content for national and international stories, but it's unfortunate to see The Plain Dealer writers and editors felt they couldn't add anything to the discussion. Perhaps they addressed the issues raised in some opinion column.

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    1. This is an excellent point, too. Interestingly enough, The Plain Dealer doesn't even actually own cleveland.com (if memory serves). It is definitely unfortunate that not only to they technically not have their own website, but that they didn't put their own spin on the story. I didn't even think of it from that angle!

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  2. Though I am not familiar with Cleveland.com and the variety of stories they display, I do know the Associated Press. I think it is a very interesting story as well. As per usual with big stories involving high profile people, such as the President of the United States, timeliness is key. Of course a photo was released of Obama skeet-shooting in the middle of gun control discussions amongst the congress and country. It makes good press and stirs up controversy, which produces good stories. This story in particular definitely was engaging, as you said, and also was fair by interviewing people from both sides of the argument.

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  3. I definitely see how this could be an important topic to cover. We all know the president has been very adamant about enforcing more strict gun laws, especially as a result of all the tragic events that have happened under his presidency. Seeing him shoot a gun may make his stance on the issue contradicting. I do like how they included opinions from both sides. At the end of the day the story kept my attention and made me curious as to what people may think or say.

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  4. I agree that this gives Obama a very conflicting image. In an alternate way to look at the concept of gun control, one could say that Obama is showing a side of guns that doesn't seem to be a point in the big argument, and that is recreational shooting. A lot of people lobbying for certain liberties for gun owners (me included) are primarily interested in the recreational aspect of gun ownership. I grew up with them as part of my heritage and have every intention to pass it on to my children. This idea could be used as a form of leverage to work towards a compromise over the gun debate, and these pictures could be a good starting point.

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  5. This is an interesting article, one that is backed up by an excellent photo. Just seeing this photo of Obama shooting the gun is enough to draw in multiple, questioning readers. The fact that Obama is now admitting to shooting guns for recreation does put quite a bit of controversy into this whole topic and I will be interested to see how it plays out. Like mentioned by others, the article does a good job of showing different sides of the debate and lays out the facts for the readers without any bias.

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  6. I agree that the release of this picture was going to stir up some controversy with gun control and the president. I compliment Associated Press and Cleveland.com for jumping on this story because the president is always something the society is going to be interested in. I also agree with Kelly in the fact that gun control is a very prominent topic in society currently. But I do not believe that this changes his stance on the gun control issue. I am unsure if that is what the article was trying to push viewers to believe. But I do not think so because they stated the reasoning for him holding a gun and a source stating because of his posture he is not a regular shooter. It was clearly for recreational purposes and his stance on the issue is due to the tragedies that have been occuring in America, not because of the recreational uses. Overall interesting article and did a good job of keeping viewers informed and engaged.

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  7. The article is interesting, and does make the reader think about gun control and the president's hand in the current controversy. Does his skeet-shooting history dismiss his gun-banning strategy? It is really such a big deal that President Obama partakes in recreational shooting as long as he follows safety laws and precautions (as is pictured)? The writer does an excellent job of keeping his information unbiased and allowing the audience to make their own judgements about such a big issue in current events. The article also has a great comment on the timeliness of this information- That maybe Obama "would have met less skepticism had the president spoken about his hobby months before this new debate over guns in the United States."

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  8. This story kept me very attentive because, as some of you noted above, gun control is a very serious issue in America right now. Ever since the Sandy Hook incident, President Obama has been very outspoken with his opinion on gun control in the country. In my opinion, guns don't kill people, but rather people kill other people. President Obama partaking in recreational skeet-shooting in the past makes him very hypocritical when he discusses banning guns in America, thus infringing on the 2nd Amendment. In other words, I feel like like the story was well written and it definitely kept me engaged and I learned information that I did not know prior to reading the story.

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  9. I can't quite bring myself to talk about this story from a journalistic standpoint, because it feels to me like a politically-spun tabloid article. While I understand the need to speak about gun control, does the question of whether or not Obama shoots skeet really have any bearing on anything? The currently proposed ban is on automatic or high-capacity weapons, and has absolutely nothing to do with the skeet shooting, shotguns, or sport shooting of any form. Therefore, unless the people of the United States are hunting with fully automatic assault rifles (which I am fairly certain is illegal), this article causes a resounding and fully heartfelt...

    This does not matter.

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  10. Ever since the Sandy Hook killings in Conn. I've been figuring out where I stand on this touchy subject. I do believe people kill people but guns make the feat much easier to accomplish without getting physically close or personal. I can also agree that in certain circumstances a hidden firearm can protect or defend an individual. I do support the possible ban on semi-automatic weapons and extended clips that could delay the next mass shooting in our country. I do enjoy the fast-action photo of Obama shooting the rifle but I find that it is being used as a public relations effort to get more support from gun owners.

    FUN FACT - The photographer, who took the photo of Obama, is an Ohio University professor currently of leave because he is the main white house photographer.

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  11. I find this story particular interesting. As staunch as Obama is against guns, it is very different to see him shooting one. I don't think the picture really changes anything though, just like the NRA's statement says. I hope for Obama's sake that this picture doesn't blow up into a major issue. While I'm not entirely sure where I stand on the issue of gun control, I do not believe that an innocent picture like this should hinder anything that Obama is trying to accomplish. Regarding how the article is written, I really like the several quotes it uses from different sources. I know that was said before, but I certainly agree with it. It's good that the story involves more than just one angle.

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  12. I agree that this is a well-written piece but I also agree with Danny. It seems like it was politically spun. Yes it was strange timing for Obama to release this information now, but I don’t believe there is enough evidence for people to be like
    “No he’s lying” or for them to think he doesn’t do this regularly. I feel like even regular shooters can have a horrible stance or horrible technique. But I really don’t know anything about guns so I suppose they could have a valid point. I simply feel this point took up too much of the article and maybe skewed it a little.

    I also agree with Kelly that it would have been great for it to have more components. As a reader I want to hear Obama’s voice when he said, "Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time." A short video clip of this as well as a clip of Carney at the press conference would have added to the story. But I like the picture.

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  13. This was a very interesting article. Not only is the President always in the public eye, almost every day there are articles from various sources about gun control laws. I wonder how many news outlets will now publish this story as well. It also makes me think about how critical society can be. Yes, this picture coming out right now is bad timing, but do we really expect the President to just stay inside all day so he doesn't do something the public wouldn't like? Is this fair or is it just the way things work?

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  14. This is quite a controversial issue right now, which makes it interesting that President Obama was indeed at a shooting range right before he introduces his proposal. The article was well written and I agree that the graphics and other aspects of multimedia, the video, pull-out quotes, etc., made this article much more engaging.

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  15. I agree this article is quite interesting. The President is always going to be under the public eye, yes, but really gun control is about owning guns and not so for recreational use. I think that it is just for sport what Obama did. No guns are not safe, but really, when one is using a gun or around guns, its always going to be a bit unsafe.

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  16. I think that this article is very political in nature. Similar to when President Obama announced he was for same-sex marriage, right before the election. I wonder the intent of the White House to publish the photo right before the gun debate. It seems very artificial and I think the article covers that curious element nicely, speaking to NRA and how the photo influences them or not.

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  17. I think the fact that the White House released this photo tells more than the story itself. Obviously they don't see this photo as a problem. I agree with what Mr. Carey said in class that the White House is most likely showing that Obama still cares about the people who carry gun legally. This will be heavily debated in the weeks to come and should be very interesting!

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