STUDY AFFIRMS MEDIA BIAS TOWARD NRA

"...87% of the editorials and op-eds pertaining to NRA were negative..."

      A study authored by Brian A. Patrick, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan substantiates yet again what we in the pro-Second Amendment community have known for years -- that the so-called "elite" press actively uses its First Amendment right to bash NRA.

      Patrick analyzed some 1,500 articles that appeared in what he defines as the "elite press" (New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor) from 1990-1998. His study compared the coverage NRA received in these publications versus that of the NAACP, ACLU, AARP, and HCI. The study revealed that 87% of the editorials and op-eds pertaining to NRA were negative, compared to 52% dealing with the other groups, collectively.

      Patrick's study highlights that it is the views of the various editors that result in these kinds of negative reports -- reports which are "seldom directed at non-NRA groups." Other highlights of the study include:

• NRA officials are quoted less frequently;
• our Association is described more regularly using negative words;
• our officials are mis-identified more frequently; and
• we are mocked on a more regular basis in stories' headlines.

      Another finding of the study reveals that NRA events, like press conferences, garner far less coverage than similar events hosted by the other groups he studied. Patrick concludes, "In all, the NRA is indeed treated much differently than the other groups. And these differences are systematic, meaning they persist over time, across media sources and for many content categories."

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This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.

This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org