It seems like this is the day when a critical mass of journalists at “mainstream” (liberal-leaning but not explicitly partisan liberal outlets) have decided that their credibility is now on the line and they have to more aggressively cover the Gosnell murders. They were finally shamed out of their rationalizations and their determination to avoid this story. The mostly conservative journalists who used what platforms they had to advance this story (most prominently Kirsten Powers – who is not a conservative – but also lots of the First Things crew) deserve credit for this. So what are the lessons of the mainstream media’s treatment of the Gosnell murders that can be used constructively by pro-lifers? What is the potential, and what are the limits of a shaming strategy? I’m putting my thoughts together, but I’m interested in reader comments. Just one thought. The elite mainstream media like ABC, NBC, CBS , the New York Times and the Washington Post shamefully underplayed this story, but several shows on Fox News ( Fox and Friends and The Five ) led their shows with segments about that MSNBC host’s commercial about how children don’t belong to their parents rather than about the doctor who was actually killing children. That tells you something about the media environment.
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