so-called journalist

bill rappleye and bin

didn’t like the question

this week’s rapp session asked if there should be a bounty paid to citizens who point out illegal workers.  it’s from a bill in the package of immigration bills at the statehouse.  i get the following response from a viewer:

Try this on for size. Obey the laws of the United States and the State of Rhode Island because that’s what responsible citizenship is about. Bounties aren’t desirable as an underlying premise for good or responsible behavior. It would also be refreshing if elected officials and their subordinates carry out their constitutional and statutrory oaths to execute the laws. That means all of them. Even those with which they are not in agreement. If they can’t find their way to do that, they should seek other lines of work,period. Meanwhile, why don’t you poll whether or not Rhode Island residents want the immigration laws enforced? Afraid that most residents don’t agree with your biases? Too bad!

so i tell him-
I don’t ask that question as to whether citizens want the laws enforced because I don’t like surveys that result in unanimous consensus.  What’s my bias? What’s your problem? 
Keep watching, and thanks for writing.
bill

My problem is how phony your class of so called journalists are. Your so called question reflects the distorted point of view most of your class exhibit.
It also explains why mainstream America holds most “journalists” in contempt.  Bin.E

i say to mr. bin-you’d be better informed if you opened your ears and eyes and listened and watched what we do, rather than jump ugly because your skewed view of the planet is not represented by objective observers.  i still don’t know what in the world you’re thinking my bias is, when asking a question that i thought might get a balanced response...some people find it unattractive that we’re being told to snitch on our neighbors.  others say it’s the least we can do to protect our country from being overwhelmed.  the results of the survey (http://info.mgnetwork.com/autopoll/poll.cgi) bear this out.
i’d suggest that the problem is not with the journalists, so-called or otherwise, but with the prejudices of people like you, bin, who can’t believe there may be people out there who don’t see the world through the narrow prism you have adopted,
write on!

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There are good and bad in journalism, so we should listen, watch, read and learn who is good or bad or mediocre. I do think that many questions are left unanswered by journalists and they do go for sensationalism too often. I do think that the journalists in R.I. should use some poll numbers so we can get a sense of what people think around the state, they do a poor job with that. How do we know, if polls are not taken and published? More importantly, how will the folks on Smith Hill know? That is the biggest problem of all, they do not know.