Before reading the text try to guess whether the following statements are True or False

1. There are 80 million gun owners in the USA.

2. NRA stands for National Rescue Association.

3. The First Amendment is an American law which allows people to own guns.

4. Free speech is guaranteed under the American constitution.

5. John Kerry is the Republican presidential candidate at the next US presidential election.

6. ABC news is owned by Disney.

American talk radio tends to veer to the right of the political spectrum, but a new station launched last week eliminates the last trace of ambiguity on the matter. It is owned and operated by the National Rifle Association, the loudest voice lobbying on behalf of the nation's 80 million gun owners. NRA News, which began broadcasting a fiercely partisan schedule of firearms-related coverage last week, has been condemned as an attempt to circumvent new US laws curbing political campaigning.

The legislation severely limits special interest groups' ability to buy advertising to argue on behalf of a candidate. But the NRA says the radio station makes it a media organisation, so its broadcasts are journalism - not adverts. Within minutes of the start of broadcasting the NRA's executive vicepresident, Wayne LaPierre, told listeners: "The great thing about the USA is that anyone can walk into a radio studio and proclaim themselves a journalist."

The broadcasts were launched via a satellite network which reaches 400,000 listeners. Politicians in Washington wanted "some nebulous agency" to decide who could and could not broadcast, threatening free speech, Mr LaPierre added. "I hope we open a Pandora's Box on what they're doing to the first amendment," he added, referring to the clause in the US constitution protecting free speech. Until now the NRA has been more concerned with the second amendment: the right to "keep and bear arms".

It interprets this as an individual right, while opponents say it refers only to the US military. Mr LaPierre said he hoped that NRA News would be "a shot heard round the world". Initially it will be heard for only three hours a day. "Some of these big media conglomerates have so warped coverage of the firearms industry," he said. He promised that his station would be "balanced, objective and the truth".

He followed this with a vigorous condemnation of the Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry, and an interview with a college student who had received a C grade for writing a progun essay in a philosophy class. "They're trying to bend the law," said Robert Ricker, a former lobbyist for the firearms industry who switched sides and now works for an anti-gun campaign group.

The NRA is now simply trying to drum up publicity. "Do you think John Kerry could all of a sudden declare himself a journalist, start his own newspaper and legitimately claim he was a news outlet instead of a candidate for president?" he said. "The NRA was formed to get involved in elections and to lobby Congress. But I think the American people are smart enough to figure it out."

Despite the traditional alliance between rightwing lobby groups and big business, the NRA is skillfully trying to play on the unease that many people have expressed about the fact that CNN is owned by Time Warner, ABC by Disney and NBC by General Electric. "They often contribute to political campaigns and are still able to maintain their news source," said Kelly Hobbs, an NRA spokeswoman.

(The Guardian Weekly 20-04-06, page 6)