The Country Music Association Awards ceremony was Wednesday, but people are still talking about the show because of what wasn't said that night. The CMA tried to create a politics-free zone for hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, and for reporters covering the event. A week before the awards ceremony, the CMA sent out media guidelines telling reporters not to focus on gun rights, political affiliations or the Las Vegas tragedy, where 58 people were killed at the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Paisley and others spoke out about the restrictions and they were reversed, but it brought into focus the relationship between the country music industry and the debate about guns in the U.S. Music journalist Jonathan Bernstein has written about this and joined All Things Considered host Kelly McEvers to talk about how those in the industry view guns, and why the Country Music Association took the actions it did. On why the association tried to stay away from politics this year I think the
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