I sometimes wonder if the people writing mainstream media headlines bother to read the story beneath their header. Oh sure, they get the general gist of it. But I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve encountered an anti-gun headline above a story that didn’t accurately reflect the content. The cbs58.com headline above – Anonymous gun tip lines helping police confiscate more illegal weapons – is the best ever example of just how biased and plain old wrong a header can be. I’ll cut to the chase . . .
One month after [Milwaukee, Wisconsin] Mayor Barrett announced his anonymous gun tip line, [Milwaukee Police Chief Ed] Flynn says that system has taken only 45 calls and hasn’t lead to a substantial lead.
That little factoid comes to our attention in paragraph ten, following nine paragraphs of intentionally misleading misegos. Not to go all non-linear narrative on you, here’s the wind-up:
Police in Racine and Milwaukee say anonymous tip lines have played a big part in boosting the number of illegal guns confiscated this year. But the totals are also giving us an alarming glimpse of just how many guns are out there.
“We count on them and they know that,” Racine Police Sergeant Jessie Metoyer said.
A beneficial relationship forming between Racine Police and the people they protect.
Sergeant Metoyer points to the number of illegal guns officers have taken off the streets as proof. Through June 30, police captured 101 guns, including one Monday, carried by a convicted felon. That’s up nearly 70 percent from last year.
“Increase in community members giving us solid information, calling right away when they see shot fired incidents or suspicious people who they think have guns,” Metoyer said.
Racine’s anonymous Crime Stopper tip line and text services have been busy in 2014, helping police make more arrests after, what they call, a relatively violent spring and early summer.
“There are a lot of guns out there,” Metoyer said. “I think there’s probably more out there right now than we’ve seen in other years.”
In Milwaukee, police know just how true that is.
“Our efforts to get illegal guns off the streets are unrelenting, notwithstanding the status of the hot line,” Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said.
Notwithstanding. In other words, the gun snitch line doesn’t work and runs the risk of false accusations leading to unnecessary investigations into law-abiding citizens and potential SWATting (yes, there is that), but the police like the idea and the media love the police so . . . hurray for the Gun Tip Line!
Of course, if Milwaukee ever devolves into a full police state, that tip line would come in mighty handy. Just sayin’ . . .
Well, the local perspective is the media love the police only in situations like this. Normally, the Milwaukee TV and print media are quick to attack the police since they know all cops do is arrest people of color for having non-white skin.
Don’t believe or trust anything from the local TV news or print media here is Milwaukee because pretty much everything they do is crap. If it isn’t some Bart’s people segment, it’s an intentionally misleading at best, outright lie at worst for most of their news.
As for crime in the 2 mentioned cities, perhaps Racine would like to respond to the rash of armed robberies that have been happening this summer and Milwaukee can cook the crime stats all they want, the city has areas of increasing violent crime because the DA and judges try to get violent criminals on the streets as fast as they can in the name of social justice. Also ask the police about their response time to a recent stabbing murder. If the police don’t want to take, the fire department might. They waited 20 minutes for the police to show up to secure the scene while the crime was actually taking place.
James, since you’re up there, perhaps you could address just how gun-friendly a state is Wisconsin? And Milwaukee and/or the outlying suburbs? Asking because I’m being considered for a job that would bring me up there from Southern Illinois outside of St. Louis.
There again, “illegal gun”.
There is no such thing.
Good grief.
I dunno. How would an untransferrable machine gun be classified if privately posessed by a mere mortal?
as “undocumented.”
Similar to what the article said about the Racine police “capturing” 101 firearms, as if they were running around loose somewhere causing havoc.
Aww man – I have this image of cops running around with nets.
“Of course, if Milwaukee ever devolves into a full police state, that tip line would come in mighty handy. Just sayin’ . . ”
Wasn’t it the police chief or was it the sheriff in Milwaukee that announced they would absolutely defy and thwart any attempt made by federal government to ban/confiscate guns? He made this comment very publicly back during the height of the panic, on the news. I believe there’s a video out there somewhere of it.
Now I must take this time to make a note about grammar in the mainstream media. If you’re a journalist and media is your job it should not be common place to have horrible grammar issues. I have noticed on the CNN website most of all, their grammar in many of their headlines, and their articles is absolutely atrocious. Its downright horrible. I’m guessing CNN has started to hire writers that were indoctrinated in common core now?
Poor language skills are probably the least worrying thing about CNN’s reporting. When you’re dead last in just about every possible way to measure your business, as CNN is, you don’t attract the cream of the crop in talent. You get the dregs, and it shows in your product.
Yes sir. I hate them. I take a look at them occasionally because I want to see what garbage the state run propaganda machine is spewing. I think its people like me that give them half the visits they get, so maybe I shouldn’t. I just always want to see what the enemy is trying to spew.
it was the Sheriff, who is pro-gun and supported concealed carry. The City Police Chief is like ll big city chiefs–very anti-gun.
Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Yeah, the chief (like chitcago, doesn’t matter which chief, they’re all Constitution hating thugs or they wouldn’t have been hired) is firmly in the “I don’t care if you’re totally legal, if you OC in MY city my troops will prone you out” camp.
Yes, it’s ungrammatical and illiterate, here as well: “… hasn’t lead [sic] to a substantial lead”.
I’ve been seeing “led” spelled “lead” for around 20 years, more often than not. I suspect spellchecks.
Tom Barrett is the mayor of Milwaukee, not Racine.
Text amended.
Half the crap we put on the air comes from Yahoo
Let me guess, was it another “arsenal” of badly cared for .380 rounds and some used toothpicks?
The police said they gave the guns a stern talking to and have slated them for retraining classes in addition to a class on how to spot a convicted felon.
/derp
sooo….did they do anything about the felon having the gun?
It’s not the felon’s fault. The gun just jumped into his pants. The felon is lucky the gun didn’t “just go off” and shoot at some bus full of nuns.
/progderp
“Police captured 101 guns, including one “Monday” So, they captured a “Monday” Is that a new or old gun, what caliber? Haven’t heard of a “Monday”. What were the other 100 guns?
“There are a lot of guns out there,” Metoyer said. “I think there’s probably more out there right now than we’ve seen in other years.”
Are they sure he means guns, cause it sounds like they are talking about mosquitoes…or rabid bats?
No, rabid politicians.
“I think there’s probably more out there right now than we’ve seen in other years.”
Well, duh, with the gun salesman of the century driving sales to historic levels which easily out pace the buy from programs (not to be confused with buy back programs which do not exist) this mathematically has to be the case.
I can see this program presenting interesting possibilities for people to harass other people they do not like.
Sort of reminds you of the USSR, doesn’t it. Rat out your neighbor, win big prizes.
Well, filing false police reports is a crime in itself. Anonymous tip line? No such thing. Someone who gets jammed up by this at someone else’s malicious hand will be able to get to the bottom of it. I know, I know, that’s after the fact. Well, lots of things are after the fact and with obvious from the start end-games. Yet, people still do them. Such is life. Don’t blame the tip line.
And it’s about time that the POTG got a little proactive and started legitimately reporting the bad guys. Instead of bitching all the time that “they’re giving us all a bad name” or that “the police need to enforce the laws already on the books”, perhaps the POTG could get off their butts and actually do a little of the heavy lifting they always seem to pat themselves on the back for.
How many of us do you think associate with the criminal element? A large part of our culture is avoiding the type of situations that may require our guns being used but you are suggesting we actively seek out trouble? Lastly there is no shortage of stories posted here of legal gun owners actively countering criminals so howbout you check your motives for posting this nonsense.
Shouldn’t that be “led to a substantial lead?” Above is no typo, that’s how the article was posted.
And if you see shots fired, shouldn’t that be a 911 call?
Is that a gen1 Glock?
This is an example of TTAG’s commendable zeal resulting in lamentable overreach.
There are two tip lines: one in Racine and one in Milwaukee. Racine’s P.D. source credits their established tip line with that city’s success in making gun-related arrests. Milwaukee’s tip line has only been up and running for a month.
The headline only indicates that police are crediting the tip lines. Well, the police in Racine are doing exactly that, crediting Racine’s tip line. It’s not unreasonable to believe that police in Milwaukee are crediting RACINE’S tip line, too, for success in RACINE. I know, I know, the title reads “lines”, plural. Well, that could mean lines in a general sense. Prove it otherwise.
Meanwhile, the article goes into detail about the slow start of Milwaukee’s tip line. Racine’s line has been in operation for at least all of 2014. Milwaukee’s only a month. Of course they’ll have differing results at different stages. I don’t see anything hidden or misleading on their part.
The only thing at all that I see as misleading, is TTAG’s line here: “That little factoid comes to our attention in paragraph ten, following nine paragraphs of intentionally misleading misegos.”
“Paragraphs”, seriously? In a hyper technical sense, yes, it is “nine paragraphs” later; technically, because each block of text is set apart by spacing. Still, in a common usage sense, most people are going to think of a paragraph more as they appear in books and magazines, as more substantial pieces of text expressing complete ideas, as opposed to the dinky little scraps in the source article.
Really, six out of those nine “paragraphs” are but a single sentence long! TTAG makes it sound like the shocking revelation in “paragraph ten” is hidden pages deep into a lengthy article.
The idea in that tenth so-called paragraph revelation is actually begun to be introduced in “paragraphs” eight and nine. So those two don’t count as “misleading” when they’re doing the introducing of what TTAG claims is shoved deeply in the article. So, really, the transition TTAG complains about effectively takes place at the seven “paragraph” point, not the tenth. But hey, who’s counting? Except TTAG.
And why shouldn’t the transition take place there? The article presents the success of one city’s established tip line and contrasts it with the activity, but so far inactionability, of another city’s brand new tip line. The article devotes the first seven, or nine, depending who’s counting, “paragraphs” to Racine’s tip line, and the rest to Milwaukee’s line or general tip line discussion, out of a fourteen paragraph article. That’s close enough and hardly warrants TTAG’s parsing of each sentence and condemning of an entire news station.
Swing and a miss, TTAG.
From the original article:
“Thirteen-hundred guns in a little more than six months is a lot of illegal firearms,” Flynn said.
When I saw that, I thought I had missed something in the figures given before that in the article, so I read the article again…nope, still can’t see where “Flynn” gets 1300 guns. Is this just because of the absolutely atrocious writing “skill” of the writer “Lane Kimble”, or did I actually miss something?
So the powers that be want us all to become snitches and informants for the police?
On the ladder of societal status, police snitches an informants are those who, more often than not. occupy the lowest rung. How is it possible that those responsible for this idea weren’t publicly shamed for daring to suggest such a demeaning policy? This is an example of the statist disease that is socialism. The people who promoted this policy should be fired and forever be prohibited from working for any police dept. or any level of law enforcement. This is very dangerous thinking for any LEO.
Is this how the police should treat those they are supposed to so nobly serve?
As informants?
If I lived in Milwaukee, they’d get 45 tips from me in the first month that didn’t produce substantial criminal leads.
I’d let them know about all the local cops who seemed to ‘always be skulking around with guns’ and making me nervous.
“or suspicious people who they think have guns”
…wat?
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