When he initially approached me, I declined to speak with contributor Joshua Hersh because of past differences with the way Vice News has treated the gun issue. I've also come across my share of reporters who have tried to set traps, manipulate statements out of context, and flat-out lie.“People are waking up, saying, ‘Wait a minute, what do you mean I need a gun?’ All of a sudden they're realizing that this affects them.” [More]
Hersh asked me to review some of his work, including:
I decided he focuses on the facts, plus I've gotten pretty fair at smelling setups and taking care of myself, so I agreed to talk with him.
What you're seeing in his report is a distillation down to highlights-- only seconds of our conversation made its way into this. Hersh and I spoke for around half an hour, pretty cordially, and I expect the others did as well.
I'm glad I did. This piece strikes me as fair, even though I know Hersh and I still have our differences, so that says a lot. I think he did a good job and based on this, if he approaches anyone else on "our side" for an on-the-record chat, I'd say do it.
My only points of clarification: I emphasized the "I told you so" I was seeing was not as gloating as the statement implies. I also don't consider myself a "gun lover" and think that characterization trivializes -- with SEO-conscious editors, I'm not sure how much control Hersh had over that title.
