And then I wrote...
by Dick Schilling, Editor Emeritus
... that as one of the few remaining so-called Luddites who uses a land line telephone, I am certain I get more than my share of robocalls, simply because the phone number is published.
I don’t expect that number to do anything but grow as the political season progresses, if, indeed, if ever slacked off. A lot of the calls involve answering questions in a survey form, and if I am not doing anything important, I gladly participate. What ex-editor would not be willing to hold and state a position?
It is well to remember that somebody or some organization is paying for the survey and so has a vested interest in the responses. Most start out with such routine questions as likelihood of caucus participation, likeliness to vote in the election, party preference, sometimes age category, etc. But after 15 or 20 questions some candidate’s name keeps coming in as part of the question or choices, so the cat is out of the bag, so to speak. Sometimes, it almost seems you can hear the disappointment in the questioner’s voice if the answer isn’t what was hoped for.
Three times in recent weeks the caller cut the interview short abruptly. After a few of the usual preliminary questions came one to the effect of “are you or anyone in your immediate family receiving compensation for editorial contributions to a radio or television station, newspaper or news magazine?” When I answer in the affirmative, the telephone voice says “that concludes our questions. Thank you for your time.”
My take-away from that is they are not interested in the opinions of anyone who might actually have one as the result of keeping close watch on what the news is on the state or national level. Maybe that is vanity.
I have never been a fan of the fans of golfer Tiger Woods, thinking their often boorish behavior detracts from the beauty of the game. Tiger himself has not always conducted himself well on the course with words and actions not well suited to the game, although they are mostly directed at himself and not viewers.
That said, I could not help but wonder how he felt the Sunday of the last round of the Memorial tournament. Accustomed as he became to the adulation and applause of teeing off late among the leaders in tournaments, he played by himself after teeing off first and playing alone that Sunday, since 71 golfers made the cut, an uneven number when golfers play in twosomes.
And he finished last in the event after another poor finish to his round.
The TV channels and their commentators are transparent in their hope that he will come back to something like his past form, because viewership suffers when he is not in contention.
Americans love to set up their heroes for failure.
