From: hes@ncsu.edu (Henry E. Schaffer)
Subject: My response to newspaper bias - Part II
Originator: hes@sparcler.cc.ncsu.edu
Organization: North Carolina State University
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 23:33:36 GMT

  Here is my second letter:

	The headline on the front page of the second section of the Raleigh 
News & Observer on Friday, September 26, 1992 caught my eye.

Automatic weapons are used in shootout
by Francis Hopkins, Staff writer

	I started reading the article:

"Raleigh - Two rival groups shot at each other with military automatic 
weapons and one man was hit in the chest early Thursday in a shootout that 
police say centered on drug money.
  It was the second shooting this week at ...  Both involved assailants using 
an AK-47 automatic assault rifle in attempts to rob the occupants of money 
or drugs, police said."

	So far it sounded reasonable - but then I continued reading:

"But on Thursday, an AR-15 also was used, raising investigators' fears that 
guns smuggled from the Persian Gulf war have made their way to Raleigh 
streets."

	The AR-15 is a civilian semi-automatic rifle made in the U.S.  It is 
unlikely to have been used by any troops in the Persian Gulf, and I can't 
imagine that any knowledgeable Defense or police investigators would have 
linked this rifle to the Persian Gulf.  

"'It's very disturbing, knowing that those criminals and drug dealers have 
bigger guns than we have,' said Sgt. J. W. Weatherspoon."

	Did the police officer really say this?  The police can easily purchase 
AR-15 rifles or other more powerful rifles.  This sounds like some kind of 
distortion to generate sympathy for the police.

"U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents are investigating reports that 
Fort Bragg soldiers smuggled into the United States some rifles captured 
from Iraqi troops.
  The agents said they think Fort Bragg soldiers sold at least three of the 
powerful guns and other weapons in Raleigh.  Two of the AR-15s were 
recovered this spring."

	At this point the article is terribly confusing.  Did the ATF agents 
really think that the Iraqi troops were using U.S. civilian semi-automatic 
rifles, and that the Fort Bragg soldiers smuggled these U.S. made rifles back 
into the U.S.? 

	Another confusing point is the use of the word "powerful" in this 
context.  Did the ATF agents say that the AR-15 and the AK-47 were 
"powerful"?  Or did the reporter's make this up?  The attached table gives 
some data on the power of these rifles compared to the hunting rifles 
commonly used in North Carolina.  It is clear that the AR-15 and AK-47 are 
less powerful than the usual rifles used for hunting deer and other large 
game in NC and the rest of the U.S..

	On the 3rd page inside the second section, on Saturday, September 26, 
there is a headline:

3 more charged in shootout
by Francis Hopkins, Staff writer

	Halfway through the article (7th-8th paragraph) is a correction:

"The AK-47 and the AR-15, a rifle that resembles the U.S. military's M-16, 
are not automatic weapons as the News & Observer reported Friday.  Both 
are semiautomatic rifles, which fire as quickly as the gunman can pull the 
trigger, while automatics fire repeatedly as long as the shooter holds down 
the trigger.
  Police said high-powered assault weapons, whether automatic or 
semiautomatic, pose the same dangers to police and citizens.  'Both of them 
do the same damage,' Lt. D. R. Turnage said."

	This corrected the mistaken identification of the rifles as automatic 
rifles or military rifles.  Now it appears that smuggling from the Persian 
Gulf wasn't involved, but no correction or mention of this is made.  The 
distinction between semi-and (fully) automatic rifles is made pretty much 
correctly but then this "high-powered" idea comes up again.  Why is the 
repeated claim made that these rifles are so powerful?  Was Lt. Turnage 
saying that a shot from either type of rifle is equally dangerous (which is 
true) or was he trying to make it sound as if the semi-automatic is as 'bad' 
as a (fully) automatic?  Perhaps instead of the police using the reporter to 
generate sympathy for the police, it was the reporter trying to scare the 
readers about semi-automatic rifles?

	The Sunday, September 27, Editorial Page cartoon shows Superman 
lying dead in a Raleigh alley with a newspaper next to him with the headline:

AUTOMATIC WEAPONS PROLIFERATE IN RALEIGH

which indicates to me that not even the editorial staff reads the 
corrections printed on the inside pages of their own newspaper, or that 
topics involving automatic weapons are so attractive that the truth can't be 
allowed to stand in the way of a headline or editorial position.

	My conclusion is that most readers will receive the false impression 
from these three days of newspaper reading that automatic weapons, 
probably smuggled in from the Persian Gulf, are making a large-scale 
appearance in Raleigh.  However the facts appear to be that there was an 
illegal drug related shooting incident in which ordinary civilian rifles were 
used.

	Am I being overly sensitive in interpreting this as sensationalism?

							Sincerely,

Data taken from a table "Average Centerfire Rifle Cartridge Ballistics" in 
the 1991 Gun Digest.  All of these calibers come in a variety of bullet 
weights and loadings with different velocities.  I have chosen typical 
values.

Caliber		Bullet 		Muzzle 		Muzzle	       Notes
		Weight		Velocity	Energy
		(grains)	(feet/sec.)	(ft. lbs.)
.223 Rem.	 64		3020		1296		(a)
7.62x39mm	123		2300		1445		(b)
30-30		150		2390		1902		(c)
.308 Win.	150		2820		2648		(d)
30-06		165		2800		2872		(e)
7mm Mag.	165		2950		3190		(f)

Notes:
(a) This caliber is used in the AR-15 and is equivalent to the 
ammunition used in the U.S. military M-16 rifle.

(b) This caliber is used in the AK series of rifles.

(c) This is a common caliber used for hunting deer, but it is not 
considered to be powerful enough for larger game.  There is some 
controversy regarding whether it is powerful enough for the larger 
deer found in the West.

(d) This is a common caliber for hunting deer and larger game.  It 
is equivalent to the ammunition used in the U.S. military M-14 
rifle.

(e) This is also a common hunting caliber for large game.  It is the 
ammunition used in the U.S. military 1903 Springfield and M-1 Garand 
rifles.

(f) This is also a common hunting caliber for large game.

--henry schaffer  n c state univ
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