Jim Zumbo
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Stephen Mallory (talk | contribs) at 18:30, 26 February 2007. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Jim Zumbo is a firearms and hunting commentator and writer, and former Hunting Editor for Outdoor Life magazine. He hosted the program Jim Zumbo Outdoors on The Outdoor Channel and has regularly written columns, books and blogs on the topic since 1962, joining Outdoor Life magazine full-time in 1978. Cabelas, Remington, Gerber Knives and many other hunting- and shooting-related organizations sponsored Zumbo's program or reprinted his words.
On February 16th, 2007, Zumbo published an entry on his online blog (mirror) asserting that "assault rifles" are inappropriate for hunting and only suitable for use by "terrorists." The rifles to which Zumbo referred are not truly assault weapons (the technical definition of which is a selective fire military weapon capable of full-auto or three-round-burst modes), but civilian-legal, semi-automatic versions of the AR-15, AK-47, and other firearms cosmetically similar to military rifles.
As such firearms are widely used for sports such as varmint hunting and target shooting, Zumbo's comments set off a storm of grassroots criticism led by online discussion forum participants and NRA members, who started an e-mail campaign calling for Zumbo's termination by his employers and sponsors.
In response to the flood of threatened boycotts, Remington's CEO Tommy Millner made a weekend announcement and subequently fired Zumbo as a spokesman on February 19th[1], The Outdoor Channel announced its intent to sever their affiliations with Zumbo, and his online blog was discontinued "for the time being" by Outdoor Life on February 19. [2] Outdoor Life subsequently dropped Zumbo completely, stating on its webpage that Zumbo would no longer be contributing to the publication once the last of his columns already to press had been printed. Gerber Knives and Mossy Oak severed all of their business dealings with Zumbo as well, as did a handful of other sponsors.
The speed with which calls for Zumbo's termination were acted on by his sponsors and employers (initial responses from sponsors occurred within a 36-hour period after Zumbo posted the first of two blog entries on the topic) were seen by many participants as evidence of the power of the Internet and of the "new media," including the "blogosphere," to influence and shape sociopolitical events. It has even been suggested that "Zumbo" be used as a verb, meaning "to inundate with grassroots support or opposition, as in the advocacy of a political issue."[3]
References
- Biography on jimzumbo.com
- The Zumboing of Zumbo, a gun-rights perspective on the controversy
- Discussion with Jim Zumbo on Ted Nugent's internet forum