Immigrant “Hog” Shooter in National Spotlight

Given the fact that hell has broken loose in Libya, that our country is still at war on two fronts and that the earthquake in Japan has turned into a nuclear emergency of apocalyptic proportions, you can forgive the national media for taking two days to notice the idiot remarks made by Kansas state Senator Virgil Peck. He’s the guy that suggested undocumented immigrants could be shot from helicopters like they do feral hogs. The outrage has finally seeped through is getting some national ink.

USA Today, in its ONPolitics page, carried a story about how

Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, and Rep. Charles Gonzalez, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called on Republicans to denounce the comments by Kansas state GOP Rep. Virgil Peck.

This was all accompanied by proper context about what Peck said, why the Latino congressmen thought it was inappropriate and when the story was first reported. It was Monday, in the Lawrence World Journal.  News Taco posted the story the next day.

Here’s the thing, the national media’s three day lag is acceptable only in the context of the old media world where we all relied on reporters and editors who in turn relied on the wire services for news to travel their way. Today? News travels instantly so the news cycle lasts minutes, not days or weeks.

Many News Taco readers commented about the lack of National news attention to this story, but I wonder if we need the national media to legitimize news. Is a big network or national publication’s stamp needed to make news real? It’s an easy thing to ask if you’re doing a subversive (in the sense that we kiss no rings to publish what we publish), Latino news site with the word taco in its name. Still, there it is. It’s an important story and its making its way to the main stage.

Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda