"There seems to be a crucial word missing from this report," editor Terry Mattingly said in one of our regular email exchanges among the GetReligion team. "Thoughts?"
OK, I'll play along and click the link.
Interesting:
It’s official: Pornography is a public health crisis. At least in Utah.
The state proclaimed as much Tuesday after Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed off on a resolution that deems pornography “a public health hazard” that can result in wide-ranging harm to individuals and society at large.
“We hope that people hear and heed this voice of warning,” Herbert said at a signing ceremony. “For our citizens know that there are real health risks that are involved and associated with viewing pornography.”
If you're a news junkie, you know that porn has been making headlines — and not just in the religious world — the last few weeks.
Time magazine featured a recent cover story making the case that easy access to explicit images and videos has emasculated an entire generation of young men. Tmatt critiqued that story in a recent post:
Meanwhile, Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service's new national reporter focused on covering Christians and Christianity, wrote about a recent global summit aimed at "setting free" Christians from porn.
But back to the Washington Post story: I kept reading, seeing if I could spot the missing word.
Tmatt gave a hint: "Starts with an 'M.'"
OK, that helps.
"Um," Julia Duin replied in our email thread. "Muslims? Mennonites? Moravians?"
Nope, according to the boss man.
"Mum isn't the word," he added.
The story did include this quote from Todd Weiler, the resolution’s chief Senate sponsor:
“If a library or a McDonald’s or anyone else was giving out cigarettes to our children, we would be picketing them,” Weiler said. “And, yet, our children are accessing pornography on their tablets on these sites and we seem to be okay with that."
Welp, McDonald's is mentioned, so it must not be the missing word.
Morals — as in "old-fashioned morals bill" — is included, too. So it can't be the elusive puzzle piece.
I decided to cheat and check out some other national news reports to see if they might help me figure it out.
USA Today? Sorry, not there.
CNN? This is its lede:
(CNN) A state with a national reputation for wholesomeness is taking aim at a medium with quite a different reputation: the pornography industry.
Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed two pieces of legislation on Tuesday that aim to combat what's called "a sexually toxic environment" caused by porn.
Hmmmm. Wholesomeness? My GetReligion antenna shot up, as if that might be a clue.
But wholesomeness doesn't start with an "M" (unless you flip it upside down), and tmatt confirmed that the crucial word was missing in the CNN story, too.
I'm befuddled, kind readers.
What in the world could that missing "M" word be?