Reuters Headline Proclaims Millions "Blocked" from Voting
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I'm not necessarily part of the "al Reuters" crowd who like to gang up on the news service.
But this headline is outrageous:
Millions Blocked from Voting in Election
Millions?!? Sounds like a real crisis. What could be happening? Might they mean be "blocked" as in roadblocks? Or perhaps some vast scandal has been uncovered regarding corrupt poll workers or state troopers or the seemingly omnipresent "partisan political operatives"?
Reading on...
Oh.
As for felons voting, I cracked that nut long ago in this post. It's perfectly reasonable to deny felons the vote, for life. Move along, nothing to see here. I have nothing more to add on that subject.
My concern in this post is only with the inflammatory headline.
Wouldn't a more accurate headline be: "Millions Forfeit Vote By Committing Felonies"? Or "Yet Another Reason Not to Commit Felonies"?
The article does proceed to rehash, with little in the way of hard data, issues such as poll worker misconduct and alleged partisan "dirty tricks." And such issues, to the extent they really exist, are important and deserve scrutiny. But why forfeit your credibility by trying to ride the statistical coattails of a red herring non-issue?
Good writing...honest writing...important writing. Or a catchy headline.
That shouldn't be a hard choice.
UPDATE: The Sundries Shack sees a pattern.
But this headline is outrageous:
Millions Blocked from Voting in Election
Millions?!? Sounds like a real crisis. What could be happening? Might they mean be "blocked" as in roadblocks? Or perhaps some vast scandal has been uncovered regarding corrupt poll workers or state troopers or the seemingly omnipresent "partisan political operatives"?
Reading on...
The largest category of those legally disenfranchised consists of almost 5 million former felons who have served prison sentences and been released.
Oh.
As for felons voting, I cracked that nut long ago in this post. It's perfectly reasonable to deny felons the vote, for life. Move along, nothing to see here. I have nothing more to add on that subject.
My concern in this post is only with the inflammatory headline.
Wouldn't a more accurate headline be: "Millions Forfeit Vote By Committing Felonies"? Or "Yet Another Reason Not to Commit Felonies"?
The article does proceed to rehash, with little in the way of hard data, issues such as poll worker misconduct and alleged partisan "dirty tricks." And such issues, to the extent they really exist, are important and deserve scrutiny. But why forfeit your credibility by trying to ride the statistical coattails of a red herring non-issue?
Good writing...honest writing...important writing. Or a catchy headline.
That shouldn't be a hard choice.
UPDATE: The Sundries Shack sees a pattern.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Felon Voting -- Update
- The Felon Vote, Revisited
- Reuters Headline Proclaims Millions "Blocked" from Voting
- Red Felon, Blue Felon
Posted by KipEsquire on
23 September 2004
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