Politics: A Jury of Your Peers

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Politics A Jury of Your Peers How conservatives used Twitter to goad the media into covering the trial of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. By David Weigel Posted Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013, at 12:38 AM ET It started with a Twitpic. By April 11, the PhillyBurbs.com columnist J.D. Mullane had spent weeks watching the trial of abortionist and accused murderer Kermit Gosnell. Mullane had tweeted links to Gosnell trial updates from LifeSiteNews.com, and links that suggested a biased media was ignoring the trial—"Guns and babies: A tale of two massacres." He'd sparred with pro-choice tweeters. "What went into Gosnell's red waste bags was no different that what goes in the waste at any Planned Parenthood clinic," he'd said to another suburban columnist. "What happens at Planned Parenthood clinic is legal, safe," said the columnist, Kate Fratti. "It's not safe for the children snuffed," said Mullane. On April 11, Mullane covered the trial in person and noticed the rows of empty media seats. They were largely empty. "It was just so striking to me," he said. "I took out my iPhone and snapped a picture, only intending to use it in my weekly column." Mullane retweeted the photo a few more times, with different captions, because it had been packed into a snowball. Kirsten Powers, a Fox News commentator who usually reports from the left, published a USA Today column on the "blackout." Troy Newman, president of the Kansas-based Operation Rescue, had been on the phone for "five or ten minutes" with two other pro-lifers, launching a campaign to "Break the Gosnell Media Blackout." People who wanted the media at the trial would tweet the accused's last name ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Why the Conspiracy Theorists Will Have a Tough Time With Boston What Was It Like To Be Near the Explosions at the 2013 Boston Marathon? Why Call It "Terrorism"?	Advertisement
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