With public approval for the news racket furiously dogpaddling just above organized labor, HMOs and Congress, it's little wonder reporters are considering arming themselves.

The San Antonio Express News is reporting a sudden interest among members of the press in obtaining concealed handgun permits, giving new meaning to the term "gotcha journalism," and suggesting a name change from the Fourth to the Six-Gun Estate.

Such is the diminished status of a job that ranks 184th out of 200 jobs, 67 spots below sewage plant operator, in one Wall Street Journal survey, that reporters are submitting to background checks and taking gun safety classes just so they may get the same privileged treatment at the state Capitol afforded politicians and their staffs. They're following the lead of lobbyists, who according to the Houston Chronicle were signing up for concealed handgun permits last June. Concealed weapon permit holders, unlike common citizens, are required only to whip out their permits to sidestep the metal detectors at the Capitol.

The story does not say how many members of the press corps might actually go packing during this 82nd Legislative session. But it is sure to cause added anxiety with public concern for journalistic accuracy at an all-time high.

Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org.

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Photo of a reporter's notebook by flickr user niclas, used via a Creative Commons license.