Howard Kurtz and Lauren Ashburn weigh in on the media's coverage of the Newtown shooting

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary has been raising a lot of questions about media coverage of the tragedy and the general tone of journalism today. This is especially because the victims, and many of the affected, were six and seven year olds who attended the school. The coverage has also led to painful questions about gun legislation and questions about how exactly one should go about covering a tragedy and if certain coverage is good or bad for the victims and the town. This morning host of CNN's Reliable Sources Howard Kurtz and Daily Download Editor in Chief Lauren Ashburn join “Starting Point” to discuss the coverage and its impact on the victims and gun laws.

Ashburn says, “It wasn’t until I saw President Obama get a tear in his eye that that was almost a signal to journalists everywhere that it’s ok to show your emotion.”

On the topic of gun legislation CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein says, “It doesn’t meant that you’re necessarily going to pass legislation. There are lots of barriers to that but I think you’re going to have a more robust debate than we’ve had in the last few years about what the options are.”

Kurtz says the possibility of new gun legislation is unknown but “I do think… journalists all thinking about their own kids – all deeply affected by this. For some reason this cut to the core.” He adds, “That’s why I think that emotions will help power a debate. It’s a debate where we have to be fair and we can’t push and agenda.”