Apparently stupid media reporters are not a new phenomenon...

from a news story about the infamous Hillsville VA courthouse massacre in March, 1921, by reporter Rita O'Brien:

A consignment of twenty rifles were shipped from Richmond Monday night arriving at Hillsville at about 11 o'clock yesterday morning. They are 30-30 calibre and shoot five miles with accuracy. With them, the posses will be able to station themselves far out of range of the outlaws' rifles and send a stream of steel into their very midst.
From a great distance the bullets from these guns can be sent through a brick house, and the ordinary frame house is no more defense against them than a sheet of paper. The possession of such weapons will be of great advantage to the officers, as with they will be able to effectively lay siege to any spot the outlaws may pick out.