Another One Bites the Dust

In addition to the first article,* another article was just "unpublished" by the "gatekeepers" at Examiner.com. Here is the excuse they used:

The thing is, this person is making that up as a phony excuse to suppress this article-- I never submitted this article by claiming "newsworthy" status, but merely submitted it as a subjective column, which they publish all the time. See? The box wasn't checked and they know it.

Here is what they don't want you to see:
EIN News features ‘unpublished’ Gun Rights Examiner article

The unexplained removal of an article relevant to readers of this column prevents not only them from seeing it, but also journalists subscribing to the EIN News service, effectively suppressing the information from the public.

Screen shots by D. Codrea

“Embattled Hastert was no friend to gun owners despite ‘A’ rating,” one of the linked headlines in the Saturday EIN Newsdesk alert informed subscribers. The service, maintained by professional editors, provides subject-customized news monitoring and distribution “for journalists and other professionals world-wide who are deeply involved in very specific topics. Our vertical niche publications reach industry leaders and decision makers...”

The problem is, any journalists, industry leaders and decision makers clicking on the link will get an “Uh-oh” 404 message (“Not Found”). That’s because, for reasons not yet explained, on Friday, shortly after the article was published, the story was taken down from Examiner.com by unknown company moderators without explaining the reason behind the decision.

“This article has been unpublished by staff,” a note on the publishing/editing tool advised, something discovered purely by chance after I saw the column had disappeared from the Gun Rights Examiner home page. “Contact support with any questions.”

That was Friday, and despite multiple emails, no answer to the query has yet been received, leading to speculation why this was done in the absence of any “official” word. Whatever it was, it did not trouble the editors at EIN News, who, before it had been taken down without notice, thought the story significant enough to include in their alert to industry professionals. Maybe it’s all a mistake, or maybe there’s a technical reason -- or maybe it’s a matter of some arbitrarily-interpreted “standards” violation, except Examiner has featured one of the potential triggers in numerous headlines, not to mention actively promoted regular columns that are NSFW (by a long “shot,” if you care to risk reading the last paragraph). Since they have not responded to queries to explain why the column was pulled, all that’s left is to guess. Or perhaps all that's needed is for someone with an axe to grind to click on the "Report this content!" link accompanying all articles on this site. Pending a response, which I will make available to readers either here or at The War on Guns blog, the article has been reposted in total on that blog so that readers can see it for themselves.

In the meantime, while all the “real reporters/legitimate news media/Authorized Journalists” are repeating salacious speculations about the unfolding Dennis Hastert scandal, and generally parroting the work of others and rewriting (rewording) stories off the same sheet, none of the journalists are likely to see a dimension to discussions about the former Speaker that no one else is talking about: How he promoted ending all private sales at gun shows and denying handguns to citizens old enough to vote, marry, and enlist in the military, and how he was given an “A” rating by the National Rifle Association after doing so.

That means most news consumers, and most gun owners, for that matter, will never learn of it either. What remains to be seen is if this follow-up article will be allowed, or removed once posted. That will tell much to gun rights advocates looking for uncensored information they’re not getting anywhere else.

*Text and link added.