Monday, November 06, 2006

Classic Case of Media Stem Cell Ignorance

So, I am watching CNN and it runs a segment on Missouri's Amendment 2 and embryonic stem cell research. Then, Bill Schneider, CNN's big political analyst comes on to say confidently that based on his discussions with people, second only to Iraq, the stem cell issue is most urgently on voters' minds--polling doesn't show this, by the way--and that it could impact the Missouri Senate race (although he wouldn't say which way).

Then, the beauty of live television and the unscripted question: The host asked, "Embryonic stem cell research is legal in Missouri, right?" Schneider got the flustered, deer in the headlight look of the "expert" who is suddenly exposed as not knowing what he is talking about. "I, I don't know," he stammered.

Hey, Bill, if you paid attention to all points of view in the debate rather than just the politically correct side, you would know that the answer is an emphatic yes! If one moment captured a larger media truth, that was it. Classic.

posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 7:19 AM   1 Comments

1 Comments:

At November 06, 2006 , Blogger Wesley J. Smith said...

Nice try, Adam. Embryonic stem cell research is legal in the country and in every state, unless explicitly outlawed. Moreover, A 2 is primarily about legalizing therapeutic cloning.

Schneider, if he was going to be the expert on the stem cell amendment and its chances for passage, should have known it was perfectly legal now.

My bigger point is that the media is so often wrong about this issue, leading to a lot of ignorance or mistaken impressions among the general public.

Thanks for commenting.

 

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