"Tonight, Only On 6, words from a book WE CAN'T SAY ON TELEVISION, but REQUIRED READING for some South Florida students."

Yes, Adam Kuperstein of NBC Miami, the students are required to read lists of swear words. Not, like, a book that CONTAINS profane language used WITHIN CONTEXT of a LARGER STORY.

Good job on reporting both ACCURATELY and WITHOUT BIAS.

Not.

Man, I despise television news.

ANYWAY, as you may have gathered, Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian has been challenged again, and it looks like in this case, the children of the objecting parents were given a different assignment and—for now, anyway—the book won't be taught again during this school year.

No challenge committee or anything like that, just, YOINK:

The school board says the principal worked it out so that the students, whose parents didn't want them to appear on TV, can now read another book to finish their assignment. The board says this assignment for the other students is over and no other kids will be given this book during this school year. The parents are happy about that and the board says it always wants participation from parents.

But, who knows. Maybe the school is planning on revisiting the issue over the summer, on coming up with an official challenge process, and on coming up with a plan for parental permission & alternate reads for potentially problematic books?

I hope so.

More than anything else about the story, though, my issue is with the way that NBC Miami reported it. I mean, SCARE QUOTES MUCH? They're so obvious that you can HEAR THEM in the reporter's inflection. And the whole situation had already been resolved, so the only possible reason I can come up with for the A Current Affair*-style treatment of the story is that NBC Miami, like, wanted to whip its viewers up into a frothy frenzy of righteous fury?

I know that at this point, most people probably have no expectations in regards to the objectivity of television "journalists", but GOOD LORD IT IS OCCASIONALLY MADDENING.

(via @chasingray)

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*Known throughout my childhood as "The Triangle Show".