Is it newsworthy if a candidate's volunteer discriminates against a Muslim?

[kavika411]

No doubt we've all heard about Obama's volunteers who moved some Muslim women donning headscarves out of view for photo ops. The purpose of this post is not to invite criticism of that event, or a defense of that event. My question concerns media attention, or non-attention, of an event like that.

To be specific, do you think it is newsworthy (i.e. NPR Morning Edition, Nightly News, CNN, huffingtonpost.com, foxnews.com, etc.) if a volunteer of a presidential candidate - be it Obama or McCain - takes action like Obama's volunteers did?

(And no, I'm not trying to frame the discussion one way or another. I'm simply asking a question that I think is interesting.)

[clevin]

it is newsworthy. IMHO, as long as its true, more stuff comes out, the better.

American general public might not have the necessary mind to think stuff like these objectively. But thats just how it is.

Bottom line, tell the truth and facts, consequences are not my priority.

[leekohler]

We've already discussed this. Do we really need a new thread on the subject?

[kavika411]

We've already discussed this. Do we really need a new thread on the subject?

Thank you for your comment. I looked but did not see a thread on the media coverage. Would you please give me the link? Thank you.

[Cleverboy]

Well... personally, I think its "somewhat news". But, its apparently also news if a candidate calls a reporter "sweetie". News... WORTHY? No. But, right now, "newsworthy" is anything that makes headlines and stirs the pot in a non-lying fashion. Really... ANYTHING. CNN reporter on a candidate choosing to wear jeans the other day. No joke. Stop the presses.
Thank you for your comment. I looked but did not see a thread on the media coverage. Would you please give me the link? Thank you.
Muslim Woman not Allowed to Sit Behind Obama in Detroit
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=502727

It's been bubbling all week.

~ CB

[Iscariot]

What a volunteer — whose connection to a political figure is tenuous at best — does really shouldn't be newsworthy. We should be focussed on the candidates themselves and the issues, not this mind-numbing six degrees of separation witch hunting.

[themadchemist]

Well... personally, I think its "somewhat news". But, its apparently also news if a candidate calls a reporter "sweetie". News... WORTHY? No.

I think the discrimination is far more significant than a candidate calling a reporter sweetie. I don't think they're even comparable.

[solvs]

It should be news, but not like it has been. Maybe a blip on page 21 or something. But it's overblown, details left out, and reasoning completely ignored. Like why they felt they had to do what they did, and that Obama himself apologized right away. Meanwhile, other more important stories are out there being completely ignored, or maybe stuck back on page 21 if they're lucky. And I'm not talking about stupid things the other side said or did (though there are legitimate things that could count, like a candidate running on experience confusing Shia and Sunni, repeatedly, which was more or less ignored because something that doesn't affect any of us was being covered instead). There are real stories out there, that really affect us, in the big picture, that simply aren't covered because they don't get the attention, which doesn't get the ratings.

I noted in another thread how little the MSM is paying attention to Iraq and the stans right now, but it doesn't get the ratings it once did, so they all focus on something else, even if no one should really care.

[hulugu]

Well... personally, I think its "somewhat news". But, its apparently also news if a candidate calls a reporter "sweetie". News... WORTHY? No. But, right now, "newsworthy" is anything that makes headlines and stirs the pot in a non-lying fashion. Really... ANYTHING. CNN reporter on a candidate choosing to wear jeans the other day. No joke. Stop the presses.
...~ CB

I'm not sure. There is a story here, in that the Obama campaign is clearly afraid of being tied to Muslims, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
The real story I think is how political campaigns operate and how even small issues (like flag pins) are used as a guide rather than issues.
Of course, this would be a complex story we might see in a monthly magazine six months after the election.

[thejadedmonkey]

I don't know if this actually happened, I'm only going off of what the OP wrote.

If it's newsworthy, the headline would have nothing to do with Obama, and everything to do with Mr. Racist. Joe. If it had ANYTHING to do with Obama, I would consider it a smear attack.

[solvs]

It happened. There were some women who wanted to sit behind Obama at some rally, but they were dressed in Muslim garb, so some volunteers told them to move. We all know why, and it has little to do with racism on their or Obama's part. Obama immediately apologized afterward and proudly put up a pic of him with some locals, some of the women wearing Muslim garb. The smear is against Muslims, not Obama, making it seem like all Muslims must be terrorists. But by proxy it's become a smear against Obama. Of course it's ridiculous, but that's politics lately. What else are the going to get him on? Not that it's really working anymore, except when preaching to the converted who probably wouldn't vote for him anyway, but along with everything else it paints just enough of a picture to make McCain a more viable candidate even though a majority of the country is now against what he's now for.

Meanwhile one of McCain's closest advisers just inferred a terrorist attack could help him and his client, and I've only heard about it from a few places. At least he apologized afterward, but even in context, it didn't seem to be a great thing to say. Had Obama, or even someone close to him, said it, we'd probably be hearing about it non-stop, because Obama obviously loves the terrorists. :rolleyes:

[themadchemist]

I don't know if this actually happened, I'm only going off of what the OP wrote.

If it's newsworthy, the headline would have nothing to do with Obama, and everything to do with Mr. Racist. Joe. If it had ANYTHING to do with Obama, I would consider it a smear attack.

Well, Mr. Racist Joe was an official volunteer of Obama for America, so that's why it's an issue. I'm an Obama supporter, but this story was profoundly disappointing.

[Dagless]

We've already discussed this. Do we really need a new thread on the subject?

Apparently so. :(