Snipe hunting in Rabbitgate

Nerissa Young, member SPJ Ethics Committee Assistant professor, Shepherd University

So who cares how many rabbits and varmints former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shot? Do voters? Does that illuminate anything about his fitness for the presidency?

The Rabbitgate scandal in the news has prompted some reporters to actually spend time determining which species of rabbits can be killed without a license in Utah. While news reports are quick to point out Romney has apparently waffled on gun control, which is considered a key issue in the race for the Republican nomination, very little light has been shed on the particulars of his voting record and the legislation in question.

Journalists and even a few students in my Introduction to Mass Communications course understand that bills can become catch-alls for pet causes at the end of a session. Lawmakers who vote against a bill or governors who refuse to sign it may actually be more guilty of reading bills before acting on them than of waffling on an issue.

The 2008 presidential campaign coverage began two full years in advance of the new administration. People have a right to expect more than the snipey coverage of the past. No, I don’t know whether you need a license to hunt snipe in Utah. I’ll leave that to The Associated Press.

It’s an issue of basic accountability.