In May of
2016 Katie Couric and her associates produced a “documentary” entitled, “Under
the Gun.” Its website describes the film
as follows:
“UNDER THE
GUN examines the events and people who have kept the gun debate fierce and the
progress slow, even as gun deaths and mass shootings continue to increase.
Through the lens of families impacted by the mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora,
Isla Vista and Tucson, as well as those who experience daily gun violence in
Chicago, the documentary looks at why politicians are finding it difficult to
act and what is being done at the state and local levels. The film is executive
produced and narrated by Katie Couric and directed by Stephanie Soechtig.”
The film’s
anti-gun predisposition is clearly conveyed by that description. Included in the “documentary” is a clip in
which Katie Couric interviews the pro-gun rights group, Virginia Citizens
Defense League. Couric asks them, “If
there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or
terrorists from purchasing a gun?” The
group’s members are then shown looking around in silence for nine seconds,
appearing stumped by the question. But
in reality it was later revealed that members of the group offered responses to
her question immediately. The edited
version and a portion of the actual responses can be heard in this news segment
on Fox News from May 26, 2016:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4913171510001
What a
devious and unfair thing for Couric and her friends to do. Couric initially dismissed the criticism of
the misleading editing, saying she was proud of the film; but she later (when
the criticism wouldn’t go away, presumably) issued the following apology:
“As
executive producer of ‘Under the Gun,’ a documentary film that explores the
epidemic of gun violence, I take responsibility for a decision that
misrepresented an exchange I had with members of the Virginia Citizens Defense
League (VCDL),” she wrote. “My question to the VCDL regarding the ability of
convicted felons and those on the terror watch list to legally obtain a gun,
was followed by an extended pause, making the participants appear to be
speechless.
“When I screened an early version of the film
with the director, Stephanie Soechtig, I questioned her and the editor about
the pause and was told that a ‘beat’ was added for, as she described it,
‘dramatic effect,’ to give the audience a moment to consider the question. When
VCDL members recently pointed out that they had in fact immediately answered
this question, I went back and reviewed it and agree that those eight seconds
do not accurately represent their response….I regret that those eight seconds
were misleading and that I did not raise my initial concerns more vigorously.”
http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/katie-couric-under-the-gun-apology-misleading-epix-1201785392/
So let me
see if I understand this correctly. The
makers of this “documentary” thought it would be better to edit out what was
actually said and substitute a version that was, in essence, fiction? Sounds perfectly in keeping with how the Left
approaches just about everything. It is
no exaggeration to say that there is always an attempt to mislead and
misrepresent in whatever the Left produces, because that is what is necessary
for the Left to advance its agenda.
The Virginia
Citizens Defense League has filed a $13 million defamation suit and they are
entitled to every penny, in my humble opinion.
This was no accident. According
to her own apology, Katie Couric knew that the film’s selective editing would
give viewers a false and unflattering impression of the members of this group,
and that is what it intended to do. One
can only imagine what Ms. Couric’s response would be if Fox News, for example,
edited an interview with her so as to purposely leave viewers with the false
impression that she was stumped for words; but then, fairness is something that
leftists believe only they are entitled to.
No expense is too great for someone else to pay for the sake of
advancing the Left’s agenda.
A panel of
politically-mixed journalists on Fox’s ‘Happening Now’ this morning seem to
think Couric’s apology was enough penance, even while they unanimously called
the actions of Couric and her film associates “inexcusable.” This remark by
Bill McGurn of the WSJ, however, really hit the nail on the head:
“We all know
in our business that it’s very easy to skew things with just a little touch
here, where we place things and so forth…”
Absolutely
they all know. That little perk is
precisely why the Left gravitates to the field of media.
It’s time to
send Couric and other elites a message that they aren’t at liberty to abuse
anyone else to get what they want. Give
Virginia Citizens Defense League their $13 million.
~CW
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