By Byron York
Washington Examiner
January 19, 2011
CNN's John King is attracting a lot of notice -- and some ridicule -- in the blogosphere for his on-air apology after a guest used the word "crosshairs" during a report on Chicago politics Tuesday. (The guest, a former Chicago reporter, referred to two rivals of mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel, saying Emanuel is "in both of their crosshairs.") "We were just having a discussion about the Chicago mayoral race," King told viewers. "My friend Andy Shaw…used the term 'in the crosshairs' in talking about the candidates out there. We're trying, we're trying to get away from that language. Andy is a good friend, he's covered politics for a long time, but we're trying to get away from using that kind of language. We won't always be perfect, so hold us accountable when we don't meet your standards."
[snip]
Now, King says, CNN is "trying to get away" from such terms, suggesting that in the wake of the Tucson shootings, such language should no longer be part of the public conversation. But if Palin is to blame for using crosshairs in her much-discussed map, then CNN, by its own use of the allegedly inflammatory term "crosshairs," might also share some blame for creating the atmosphere that led to the violence in Arizona. A look at transcripts of CNN programs in the month leading up to the shootings shows that the network was filled with references to "crosshairs" -- and once even used the term to suggest the targeting of Palin herself. Some examples:
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