POLITICO: GUN DEBATE TRIGGERED NEW HIGHS IN MEDIA BIAS:

If you thought President Obama was outraged after the Senate killed the plan to expand background checks on guns, you should have seen some members of the press.

Even by the standards of today’s partisan media environment, the response has been noteworthy. Television hosts, editorial boards, and even some reporters have aggressively criticized and shamed the 46 Senators who opposed the plan, while some have even taken to actively soliciting the public to contact them directly.

Conservatives are doubly frustrated because amid all this cheerleading, the media largely turned a deaf ear to one of the right’s central substantive arguments: There is little evidence that the Manchin-Toomey plan could prevent another Aurora or Newtown — a fact many reports glossed over. Indeed, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein recently stated on the Senate floor that universal background checks, while “very important… would not have been prevented the tragedy in Newtown.”

Nonetheless, leading media figures and outlets still tried to shame the Senate.

It’s pretty irritating, being shamed by people who have none themselves. And if you’re going to act as agitprop operatives for one party, don’t be surprised if people no longer give you the respect you feel you deserve as professional journalists.

Plus: “The media institutions of the Acela corridor are so disconnected from American society that Americans no longer pay attention.”