Cheney and the Shot Heard 'Round the World

The press seems utterly up in arms at Dick Cheney today: there was nothing else on CNN this morning.

Why are they so upset? Because his office waited 20 hours before contacting the press about the shooting.

I can see why they are upset: they want the news as quickly as possible. That’s their business. Hence it was wise of the Conservatives to feed them regular stories during the recent Canadian election.

But I don’t see why the rest of us should care, and I think it would be more professional of the press to realize this. They should, in all humility, show some recognition that, in the end, it is really none of their damned business in the first place, much less an obligation on the part of their subjects to inform them within a time period specified by the press itself. It’s just prurient interest, after all; there is no “need to know.”

Too often, on CNN or in the New York Times or the Globe & Mail, you get the sense of journalists as a special interest group, using their access to the presses and airwaves to advance their own interests, and quite out of touch with their readership or viewership.