What we're reading this week...

By Cassie Spodak, CNN

Media coverage this week has centered on Congress and President Obama attempting to avoid the fiscal cliff, but the debate over gun control dominated the news cycle. Below are some of the stories the Reliable Sources team is talking about this week:

Who has a gun near you? – The Journal News, based in Westchester County, NY caused quite a controversy when it posted a map to its website showing “The Gun Owner Next Door” – all information taken from public records pinpointing the addresses of people with gun permits. A blogger struck back by posting the home address of the leadership and staff at the local paper.

Zuckerberg sister misunderstands Facebook privacy – Randi Zuckerberg, formerly marketing chief for Facebook and brother of founder Mark, posted a family picture on Facebook Wednesday that she thought was only visible to friends. However, a non-friend soon Tweeted out the picture, eliciting a rebuke from Randi: “Not sure where you got this photo. I posted it only to friends on FB.” The picture was eventually taken down but some see the episode as emblematic of how Facebook’s new privacy settings can be overly complicated.

The commercial ties between violent video games and firearms – A New York Times article takes a look at the close relationship between video game manufacturers like Electronic Arts and advertising companies like the McMillan Group, the maker of sniper’s rifles among “other accessories for assault-style weapons.” One Electronic Arts video game website, which has since been disabled, is described as a “virtual showroom for guns” where visitors can click through the catalogs of partners’ products.

When journalists flirt with advocacy – An article in the Columbia Journalism Review takes a look at how some journalists blur the line between reporting and advocacy. The writer argues that although some in the “old-media” might require total objectivity, in the “new-media” world advocating for certain issues makes some journalists more valuable.