Crofton Online: Sunwatch
Baltimore Sun Ignores Public, Hand Picks Panel To Speak For All Marylanders

Bigotry Obvious In Selections Based Solely On Demographics

Just when we thought the Baltimore Sun (B.S.) couldn't sink any lower, the local tabloid announced on its front pages today [September 17] that scientific polling to determine public opinion, used for decades by politicians, the news media, and scholars alike, isn't valid unless its results agree with the opinions of B.S. "reporters."

Polling based on scientific principles has long been recognized as amazingly accurate, within a certain set percentage, which is always published by reputable pollsters along with the poll's results. Current polls show landslide proportions of Marylanders condemning the press for its handling of the "Lewinsky matter" and agreeing that the President should not resign or be forced from office through impeachment.

The B.S. was thus facing a quandary. How could it assert its authority over the public and the politicians who must face the voters? Simple. The B.S. unilaterally declared on its front pages that "We've heard from the pundits, politicians and pollsters--but what about regular people in places like Maryland?" By lumping pollsters in with the B.S.'s own "pundits", who have completely disgraced themselves and lost all credibility, they are attempting to discount true, scientifically measured public opinion. The B.S. then went on to announce formation of a "People's Panel" reminiscent of something cooked up in communist China.

The so-called "People's Panel" clearly reflects the bigotry of the B.S.'s rich owners and editors. They actually believe they can hand pick two blacks, one male and one female, who solely because of the color of their skin can speak for all blacks of both sexes in the state. Similarly, they have hand picked an Asian, two white women, one younger and one older, and two white men, one in a business suit.

Does the B.S. actually think that the public will fall for this incredible charade? They have dismissed thirty years of scientific polling in one sentence, and attempted to replace it with a "People's Panel"; and they expect us to accept it since they included hand picked minorities. What bullshit!

Is it any wonder that the "P.P." immediately announced, in headlines larger than those used during the Persian Gulf War, that the President is "a very damaged human being"?

Those of us who remember the old Baltimore Sun are wretching our guts out at what has become a pathetic, pitiful tabloid.

But what about Dan Rodricks? Say it ain't so, Dan! Is your paycheck so large and so important to you that you will stoop to this level? Your credibility is also going straight down the toilet.

Thank God for the Internet!




Read what noted author and media critic Jon Katz says about the battle between the press and the public.


Back to Crofton Online.