Time 100 Most Influential People... to spark a debate?
So, just recently, Time came out with their 100 Most Influential People issue and I think it is going to spark a debate. In fact, it already has within my group of friends…. Because why? President Bush did not make the list. Interesting…
THE LIST:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595332,00.html
I have one friend in particular who is extremely disturbed by this… partly because he is a die-hard Bush supporter… but I will admit, most that are not Bush fans were upset by this too. Why you ask? Well… let me explain. Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama and Former Democratic Vice President and “Oscar winning movie star” Al Gore and not my favorite person but definitely left-wing Rosie O’Donnell all made the list.
AND… on top of this, Osama bin Laden made the list. I can honestly say the above didn’t shock me too bad. Osama bin Laden shocked me, and upset me a little bit… as well as many of my friends. I want to defend CNN and Time magazine in this situation and say there is no bias, but arguing that to my friends is very difficult. They are right to say, “C’mon Abby, open your eyes! The network is biased!!!”
To add all of these people to the list and leave off the President of the United States, whether popular or not, the man has influential powers. I mean, an overwhelming majority of the country is against this war, but he has the power and influence to keep us in it. For the U.S. President to be left off the list and all of these other people make it is a little bizarre to me.
I’m a little torn too, because in a way, I am glad to see that he didn’t make the list. It, in a way, feels like the people are finally being heard… but then, all of that meant nothing to me when Time put Osama bin Laden on the list.
A quote from our E-mails:
“I know you all probably think I'm nuts, but this is the most blatant and severe example of media bias that I have ever seen. This is actually so sad it is making me nauseous. Rosie O'Donnell and Osama bin Laden make this list, and not our President? Seriously, God help us.”
That is a quote from my friend Jesse. Obviously, he has strong feelings on the matter, but I think that many people are having similar thoughts, whether you like or dislike Bush. Them and not our President?
It’s been going back and forth between my friends and me for a day now. I’d like to see what other people think, that is the sole purpose for this blog. Do you guys think CNN and Time are biased and why? I am having a hard time defending myself and defending journalistic integrity on this one.
posted by Abby Gustus Alford @ 5:16 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I'm not gonna say that CNN and Time are not biased, but if they put Bush on there because he's the president, then every president deserves to be on that list, American or not. So, in that sense, I can understand why they didn't.
I know that in the past, Time has said that once a person is on such a list, they're there for all-time, so that the list doesn't include 80 of the same people each year. So maybe that's the explanation. But I agree with GN as well...if you have Bush, you also need to have Blair, the leaders of the other G8 countries, the secretary general of the UN, etc., etc. So it's probably for the best that they look for other candidates.
I think that it is a big omission to leave Bush off. And I guess since Time is an American publication marketed mainly to Americans, I could see why it's more significant to leave him off than other leaders as GN and AJS suggested.
It may a combination of bias and bad judgment...ROSIE O'DONNELL? Granted, I don't watch "The View," but is she really that influential? I'll be curious to see Time's response to this one, assuming they get enough letters.
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