Is "Crosshairs" Now Hate Speech?

With the debate over political rhetoric dominating the post-Tucson media conversation, some journalists have begun pausing before reaching for violent clichés that have long been common in political coverage.

According to Michael Calderon at The Cutline blog at yahoo.com, CNN host John King took a moment on air Tuesday night to acknowledge that a guest had just used the term "in the cross hairs" during a discussion about the Chicago mayoral race. "We're trying, we're trying to get away from that language," King told viewers.



The Washington Examiner's Byron York took issue with King's statement and pointed out on Wednesday that CNN has used battle-ready terms such as "in the cross hairs" numerous times in the past.

King called attention to using "cross hairs" by making that statement on air. There's no CNN policy to avoid using the word, but King apparently wants to try doing so on his show. And King's not the only political journalist who's reluctant to talk of politicians being "in the cross hairs" since the Tucson rampage -- others are just avoiding such phrases rather than making statements about it.

"Just for the record, CNN anchors, reporters and guests did absolutely nothing wrong with their use of the word in the last month and before," York wrote. "It would be impossible, at least for any reasonable person, to argue that the network's use of 'cross hairs' in any of the various contexts it was used, was an incitement to violence by anyone, anywhere. But by announcing that 'we're trying to get away' from 'cross hairs' and other allegedly incendiary language, CNN is aligning itself with those who blame 'rhetoric' for the killings."

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