Who Should You Vote For? It's Not for Me To Say

SAN DIEGO -- On Election Day, I'm voting for ...

Actually, it's none of your business who I'm voting for. In fact, I believe there is something wrong with those columnists, pundits and commentators who have, as of late, felt the urgent need to share their presidential picks.

This could be a sign of the times. Many in the media feel compelled to share personal details of their lives with readers, listeners and viewers to establish a personal connection.

It's one thing to pepper a column with "I" or "me" or "my," or refer to your own childhood during a segment on parenting. But once cable news hosts began referring to their sexual orientation during interviews or appearing in magazine spreads in skimpy outfits or identifying themselves as immigrants while berating a nativist politician, all the revealing got creepy.

How long before those who deliver the news figure out that we tune in to find out what's going on in the world -- not what's going on with them?

Journalists and other media figures could also be sharing their voting preference in an attempt to persuade others to second the motion. That assumes we have the power to persuade anyone to do anything. And I for one have accumulated much evidence to the contrary -- which includes stacks of columns that fell on deaf ears.

After I declared myself to be "Never, Never" in this election -- committed to not voting for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump -- a lawyer sent me an email asking for clarification "so you don't cause or encourage exhausted voters to stay home."

I don't have the ability to depress voter turnout. That guy has me confused with the weather.

But winning converts is not the role of journalists either. There is an epidemic of people in the news business losing focus and trying to do everyone else's job but their own.

In the 27 years that I've written for newspapers and websites, I've been a freelancer, reporter, editor, columnist and editorial board member. And I'm clear on who is supposed to do what -- and who isn't. Just like reporters must keep their opinions to themselves, so too should those who are tasked with writing columns resist the temptation to write editorials.

...continued

swipe to next page