Want to see narrative journalism in action? Look no further than the media response to the mass shooting in Nashville yesterday, Larry O’Connor says in today’s episode. “Anytime someone who is born one gender and now decide to identify as the other gender, the media in lockstep will only call them by their new identity,” Larry points out. Why is this case different? And also, what are Larry’s plans for ending his Lenten fasts and Exodus 90? I was pretty surprised by his priorities on that score …
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Welcome back to our VIP video series “Off the Beaten Path,” featuring my friend Larry O’Connor! The Townhall columnist and Salem News Channel host starts off our week by discussing stories and ideas that may fly under our radar, in culture, politics, sports, and more. Plus, Larry previews tonight’s SNC show!
The media wants to lock down the Covenant School shooting as a gun-control narrative, Larry says — and avoid the entire transgender issue. “Why, suddenly, is this the one transgender person of the last decade where the media across the board refuses to use the new gender identity? And I think the reason is,” Larry concludes, “the last thing they want is for the message and narrative to be that a transgender individual committed this murder. Can’t have it.”
This is part of a larger effort by media orgs to control narratives on transgender issues. The New York Times has decided to crack down on staffers that publicly demanded even more narrative control over that topic, but now staffers tell the Daily Beast about a coming “queer brain drain” at NYT over it. (I’ll have a post later today on that topic.) “They’re being reprimanded verbally and reprimanded apparently in writing. There’s a memo that’s going into all of their files now,” I tell Larry, which is what prompted the potential walkout — or so TDB’s sources tell them. “And it gives you an idea, in the context of what we’re talking about here, the pressures that are in place to bury this kind of news when it comes up.”
We talk about other fun things a little further off the beaten path, too!
- Larry updates us on his Exodus 90 commitment, and how it has brought him closer to the Lenten mission
- His biggest post-Lenten-fast priority? Going to the movies!
- We both talk about our geekdom over D&D, and I reveal my brief career in stand-up comedy … sorta
- Larry’s choice of cinema return, and mine
- We both agree that I’m not Anderson Cooper … don’t ask.
Be sure to watch it all, and join the conversation in the comments!
