The networks each sang from the same hymnal as they covered the awful shooting at Houston’s Lakewood Church: actively excluding the trans identity of the shooter, which caused a great deal of confusion as details of the story were trickling in.
Most emblematic of the news coverage is NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt’s introduction to Morgan Chasky’s report from Houston which, across the dial, was the top story:
LESTER HOLT: Good evening, everyone. It has one of the largest congregations in the country. And tonight after the terrifying shooting inside Joel Osteen’s Lakewood church in Houston, disturbing clues are emerging about the woman who carried it out. Police say she brought her 7-year-old son inside the church on Sunday between services, and opened fire in the hallway with an AR-15 rifle. Two off-duty officers engaged her in a shootout,…
