GRNC Alert 10-27-17 MORE MEDIA MALFEASANCE

 

MORE MEDIA MALFEASANCE

 

With American confidence in mainstream media at an all-time low, it would be difficult to find anything that could further damage the already crumbling credibility of so-called mainstream  journalists.  And yet, Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman has crossed that line. Recently he misleadingly quoted GRNC President and 2nd Amendment activist Paul Valone in an act so beyond the pale that we cannot just stay silent.

Compare the following two quotes:
In the October 5th piece entitled “NRA bans bump stocks at its own firing range,” Politico achieves a reasonable approximation of the meaning of Paul Valone’s words based on a direct interview.  Here’s the quote in its entirety:

“Firing ranges typically limit the rate at which guns are fired for safety reasons,” said Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, a gun rights organization.

“If someone is not trained to fire rapidly they may miss, frankly, and hit things like the ceiling of the range and other areas which could cause damage and safety issues,” Valone said. Automatic weapons also typically are banned at ranges. The bump-stock system is useless for target practice and not widely used by gun enthusiasts,” he said.

“Because it’s notoriously inaccurate, it’s really not a threat to anybody except in one, and only one, circumstance, and that’s when you’re on the 32nd floor of a building shooting into a mass of people,” Valone said.

However Steve Chapman decided a little word doctoring was necessary.  Here’s his take in his October 19th piece on Townhall.com (also picked up by the Akron Beacon Journal) entitled “Another Way to Banish the Bump Stock”: 

 

  The device makes the weapon harder to control, which is why most gun ranges don’t allow it. It’s useful “in one, and only one, circumstance, and that’s when you’re on the 32nd floor of a building shooting into a mass of people,” Paul Valone of the gun rights group Grass Roots North Carolina told Politico.  


In this carefully concocted quotation, notice that Chapman conjoins the concept of usefulness with the rest of Valone’s quote to imply that GRNC supports a bump stock ban. Paul never used the word useful in this context, and its use in Chapman’s piece, properly but artfully placed outside of the quotation marks, changes the perception of the speaker’s intent.  What’s worse is that the first sentence in the paragraph, “The device makes the weapon harder to control, which is why most gun ranges don’t allow it,” would suggest that Valone had also said that, which he certainly did not.

Consider that at no point did Chapman reach out to Paul to conduct his own interview.  Nor did he have the courtesy to ask Paul to review this clever twisting of the original quote. 

At the very least Chapman is practicing manipulative journalism with the purpose of making it sound like GRNC supports the same “solution” that Chapman seems to support: legislation and litigation that would put bump stock makers out of business. Also, Chapman is likely trying to leave ignorant readers with the false impression that all leaders in the 2nd Amendment activist movement support the campaign to strip us of our property rights.

Chapman has ignored all requests to come clean.  When David Vann of Gunleaders.com challenged him in an exchange on Facebook, Chapman doubled down insisting “There is nothing misleading about the way I quoted [Valone].”

Understand that Paul has been tireless in speaking out against a ban of bump stocks. He and GRNC have been leading the fight against any legislation that would overnight criminalize millions of law-abiding gun-owners for having “politically incorrect” gun accessories.

This is yellow journalism at its worst. The Chicago Tribune needs to fire Steve Chapman, but instead they have covered for him in correspondence with GRNC on this issue. Chapman must be held to account for such gross irresponsible misrepresentation. Below, see how you can easily contact the media corporations involved, and let them know what you think of fake quotes, and also insist that the Chicago Tribune fire Steve Chapman for this artful, but malicious twisting of words.


 

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

 

 


  • EMAIL THE EXECUTIVES AT THE OFFENDING MEDIA OUTLETS: Use the copy/paste contact information provided below to insist that Chapman be fired for his fallacious misrepresentation of Paul Valone’s words and of GRNC’s true position on gun rights. Use the copy/paste message provided under ‘Deliver This Message.’

  • COMMENT ON THE OFFENDING MEDIA ITEMS: Use the media links provided below to comment on the media items that misleadingly cite GRNC’s president. Be polite, but be firm—explain that the quote they have printed conveys nearly the opposite of the true meaning of GRNC’s position. This is damaging to the GRNC brand, and suggests that GRNC is not the most effective, no-compromise gun rights group in North Carolina (which it is).
 
CONTACT INFO

 

Editors/Executives at the Chicago Tribune:
Mr. Bruce Dold and Mr. John McCormick

jmccormick@chicagotribune.com; editor@chicagotribune.com


 

Editor/Executive at Townhall.com:
Mr. Jonathan Garthwaite

jonathan.garthwaite@townhall.com; jgarthwaite@townhall.com


 

Editors/Executives at the Akron Beacon Journal:
Mr. Bruce Winges and  Mr. Michael Douglas 

bwinges@thebeaconjournal.com; mdouglas@thebeaconjournal.com


 


DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

 

Suggested Subject: “Fire Steve Chapman”  


 

Dear [Exec/Editor Name(s)]:

 

I have learned that a recent article by Steve Chapman regarding bump stocks, which appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Townhall.com and the Akron Beacon Journal, contained a purposely misleading quote attributed to the President of Grass Roots North Carolina (GRNC), Paul Valone. I am saddened to see the depths to which the media has sunk in this country, and it is yet another disappointment that the Chicago Tribune and others have sunk along with the rest.

In his commentary, Mr. Chapman twists a quote, which was lifted from a third party (Politico) in such a way as to make it seem that GRNC’s President is in agreement with Chapman’s proposed “solution” for the bump stock “problem.” Chapman seeks to legislate and litigate this item out of existence. Valone’s original quote, as published in Politico in no way called for a ban on bump stocks, and yet Chapman was able to conjoin specific words, not uttered by Valone, with portions of the original quote to twist it’s meaning. Notice below, Chapman’s artful use of the phrase that opens the paragraph that may appear to the casual reader to be part of Valone’s quote (it is not), and the insertion of Chapman’s own word, “useful,” conjoining it with the actual quote to make it sound as though GRNC would potentially support a bump stock ban.

The device makes the weapon harder to control, which is why most gun ranges don’t allow it. It’s useful “in one, and only one, circumstance, and that’s when you’re on the 32nd floor of a building shooting into a mass of people,” Paul Valone of the gun rights group Grass Roots North Carolina told Politico.

 

 

In proper context, that is not what Valone said to Politico.

So far, in correspondence on the matter, the Chicago Tribune has done nothing but run cover for Chapman and his misleading quote, which is shameful. This is yellow journalism that media consumers should not have to contend with, and surely this doesn’t help those media outlets seeking to revive and/or maintain a positive reputation. Going forward, I would encourage media outlets in general to avoid publishing works by Chapman, as the accuracy of the information cannot be trusted. Furthermore, regardless of how the Chicago Tribune sees their role in this, I am insisting, for reasons of honesty and decency, that Chapman be fired.

I will continue to monitor the Chicago Tribune’s reaction to this call for Chapman’s firing through alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina. I will also be avoiding media outlets that continue to publish Chapman’s unprofessional and untrustworthy work.

Respectfully,

 

 


Copyright Info

 

© 2017 Grass Roots North Carolina. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution is permitted provided full attribution is given and the item is reprinted in its entirety. Address questions to: President@GRNC.org

 

GRNC Sponsors

 

Support these PRO RKBA merchants who, as GRNC sponsors, are supporting your Second Amendment rights:

 

Corporate Benefactors

 

2A Friendly & NCGunOwners.com, North Carolina’s friendliest firearm smartphone app and web forum, working to promote gun ownership in NC www.NCGunOwners.com & 2AFriendly.com

37 Public Shooting Range & Gun Club, 1333 Loop Road, Bunnlevel, NC 28323, 910-893-9887, www.range37.com

C & E Gun Shows, 4225 Fortress Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060; Phone 540-953-0016 or 888-715-0606; http://www.cegunshows.com/

Carolina Firearms Forum is a locally-owned forum that has made the commitment never to sell to anyone outside of the community and to push any profits back into the community. They offer a relaxed environment for discussion on a wide variety of topics with a focus on the Second Amendment… and our bacon is better.

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Dixie Gun and Knife Shows, PO Box 21049, Raleigh, NC 27619, ph: 919-781-1287, www.dixiegunandknifeshow.com/

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Ed’s Gun Shop, 5560 US 1 Hwy, Vass, NC 28394. 910-692-7936 (Phone) 910-692-4867 (Fax)

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The Range at Ballantyne, 704-896-3155, 10913 Bailey Road, Cornelius, NC, www.therangeatballantyne.com

The Range at Lake Norman, 704-896-3155, www.therangeatlakenorman.com

Tigerswan Range Complex (TRC), World class outdoor shooting range that meets & exceeds the new Cumberland County range requirements. Built by former members of the elite “DELTA FORCE”. 2850 Tigerswan Drive, Autryville, NC 28318. 910-208-4117 – http://tigerswan.com

Sterling Pistols, custom pistols, FFL transfers, general repairs, Glock enhancements, 704-840-7625

 

Corporate Patrons

 

DoubleD Media, 8300 Raintree Lane, Charlotte, NC 28277, ph: 704-650-5555, fx: 704-544-0326 donna@doubledme.com

Down South Ammo, Home of “SOUTHERN THUNDER” Exploding Targets, http://downsouthammo.com/

Gunner’s Alley, LLC, 203 N. Harrison Ave., Ste. 130, Cary, NC 27513, www.gunnersalley.com, 919-388-1991, contact: Ed Guerriero, ed@gunnersalley.com

Holsters & Stuff, 4048 Sherwood Forest Drive, Trinity, NC 27370, (336) 313-6167 www.holstersandstuff.com

Reedy Creek Realty, 1818 Medfield Road, Raleigh, NC 27607, 1-877-428-SOLD(7653), NRA / CHP Instructor & Realtor serving the Triangle area, Free Firearm With Home Sale or Purchase!, http://www.ReedyCreekRealty.com

MK Shows, Mike Kent, PO Box 685, Monroe, GA 30655, Mike@MKShows.com, Phone: 770-630-7296, http://MKShows.com

Morris Firearms at Sportsman’s Lodge, Great handgun prices. New and used guns. Stocking dealer for Glock, Smith & Wesson, SIG Sauer, Springfield Armory, Bond Arms, Ruger, Dan Wesson and more. Buy, sell & trade. Phone: 336-961-6800 Fax: 336-961-6801. www.gftc.com

Take Aim Training, Outdoor Rifle, Handgun, Shotgun, and Archery Range located in the heart of the Carolinas. We offer Concealed carry, hunter education, and many other courses. NC & SC firearms sales and transfers. Listen to the Take Aim Training Show or online www.wixe1190.com Thursdays 4-5PM. – www.takeaimtraining.com

The Blue Book Man, www.thefirearmsguide.com

 

Corporate Sponsors

 

The Aisle Pawn Shop, 216 N. Main St., Mooresville, NC 28115, 704-663-5656

Brain Lube Online, interesting gun-related links, and more. www.BrainLubeOnline.com

Duncan Gun & Pawn, 414 Second St., North Wilkesboro, NC 28659, 336-667-6303, www.duncangun.com

Shooter’s Express, 2 Caldwell Dr., Belmont, NC 28012, 800-358-GUNS, www.shootersexpress.com

TacticalGearOps, http://tacticalgearops.com – sales@tacticalgearops.com – (888) 285-2649

Vanguard Security Consulting, LLC, 19135 W. Catawba Ave, Cornelius, NC 28031

 

Grass Roots North Carolina is a 501(c)(4) organization as recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Contributions to GRNC are not tax deductible. “Contributions to civic leagues or other section 501(c)(4) organizations generally are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. They may be deductible as trade or business expenses, if ordinary and necessary in the conduct of the taxpayer’s business.” IRS – Donations to Section 501(c)(4) Organizations. Please consult the IRS website, www.irs.gov, or your tax or legal advisor for specific information.

Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 9919-807-2214. The license is not an endorsement by the State.

 

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