There’s always a poll of some sort, called “QuickVote,” on CNN’s website.
A few days ago, they were asking whether the space shuttle was safe to launch. I didn’t vote in that one, because I don’t have the skills or the knowledge to make anything more than a wild guess. I’ll bet if I’d watched CNN’s reporting on the planned shuttle launch, I still wouldn’t have the skills or the knowledge to answer the question.
Yesterday, they were asking whether John Mason should marry his runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks. I didn’t vote in that one, either. I don’t know either of the people. I don’t know what’s been happening in their private lives. If you told me all their deepest, darkest secrets, I doubt it would shed any light on anything I should be worrying about.
Have we forgotten how to say, “It’s none of my business?”
North Korea is test-launching missiles. American soldiers are still being blown up in Iraq. We’re running up monstrous budget deficits. The economy is starting to sputter. Polar ice is starting to break up due to global warming. Uninsured Americans get sick and face financial ruin. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are still out there, making plans.
The media should be shedding light on things we have a right to care about. Instead, they wallow in stories that are none of our business.
brainrow :: What Inquiring Minds Want to Know | 04-Aug-06 at 7:03 pm | Permalink
[…] A few days ago, griping about the media obsession with “runaway bride†Jennifer Wilbanks, I wrote: […]
brainrow :: Missing Option | 07-Dec-06 at 12:36 pm | Permalink
[…] I know a little something about computers. Maybe I should volunteer to help CNN fix this persistent bug in their polling software. Time and again, their “QuickVote” polls seem to be missing at least one option. In this case, for example, where’s the “It’s none of my business” option? […]