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Newspapers Drop Gun Classifieds
'Houston Chronicle' Is Latest to Adjust Policy
By Joe
Strupp
NEW
YORK -- The Houston Chronicle is the latest in
a string of major newspapers to restrict or eliminate gun
advertising, at the request of an Iowa-based non-profit
organization seeking to cut down the number of weapons sold
by unlicensed dealers. The Hearst Corp.-owned Chronicle
has announced it would stop accepting such classified handgun
ads.
"Groups
have petitioned newspapers in the past to close what has
been termed the 'newspaper loophole' that allows a person
to purchase handguns through classified ads without federal
background checks," the Chronicle said in a statement.
"We have adjusted our policy to address this concern."
A Chronicle official told E&P the paper received
a few complaints for a few days, but the protest soon died.
The
Houston daily is just one of several papers that have altered
policies after being contacted by the National
Campaign to Close the Newspaper Gun Loophole,
which launched in November 2001. The group struck its first
success when the Chicago Tribune agreed to stop taking ads
for any firearms in late 2001, according to John Johnson,
campaign coordinator. "It was a compelling letter
they sent that asked us to review our policy,"
said Patty Wetli, a Tribune spokesperson. In all, 16 state-level
anti-gun organizations have teamed with the campaign to
lobby local papers for restrictions on gun ads.
In
addition to Houston and Chicago, the efforts have resulted
in tighter gun ad policies at The Philadelphia Inquirer,
The Philadelphia Daily News, The Denver Post, the Denver
Rocky Mountain News, the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit
News, Sandusky (Ohio) Register, and the Telegraph Herald
in Dubuque, Iowa.
Based
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the National Campaign is not looking
for an outright ban of gun ads, but rather the elimination
of classified ads from unlicensed sellers, according to
Johnson. He contends that unlicensed sellers pose a greater
threat to public safety because they are not required to
conduct background checks on buyers. "I think we
make a very compelling argument," he said, "about
why newspapers should not allow the unlicensed sales --
because they can't prevent them from going to criminals."
The
group's low-key tactics are far from the picket lines, threatened
boycotts or pressure on advertisers that some utilize in
battles against newspapers. Dave Smith, president of Texans
For Gun Safety, said his initial contact with the Houston
Chronicle's previous classified advertising director did
not result in changes, so he contacted the paper again earlier
this year after a new director took over. "She
was more open," he said of Laura Hampton, the
paper's current classified ad chief. "She said
they would review it and they changed it."
As
the movement continues, Johnson said the campaign would
focus on newspapers with traditionally progressive editorial
viewpoints in metropolitan areas, but declined to name any
specific papers.
A
number of newspapers had already banned gun ads in recent
years, with most either responding to pressure from readers
or deciding that gun ads hurt their image. "We
don't want to be a party to anyone getting an illegal handgun,"
said Rita Parrott, classified advertising manager at The
Gainesville (Fla.) Sun, which has banned classified ads
from unlicensed dealers for at least a decade. The Seattle
Times stopped all gun ads 20 years ago, according to spokeswoman
Kerry Coughlin, who said "it is simply good public
policy."
When
the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson decided not to take classified
ads from unlicensed gun dealers in early 2000, the policy
shift prompted many angry reactions, including 400 cancelled
subscriptions, according to Editor/Publisher Jane Amari.
"It was open season on the Arizona Daily Star,"
she said of the response.
Source:
Editor & Publisher Online
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is associate
editor for E&P.
Links referenced within this article
jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com
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http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1914076
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