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Labeling Certain Groups
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Why do we refer to certain groups the way we do?

When using certain names and words there is always the potential to offend if you work in the news business.

Take for instance the issue of abortion. One side calls itself 'pro-life', while another side calls itself 'pro-choice'. But reporters at KOMU call them something entirely different.

"When groups label themselves, they tend to put loaded labels on so...not many people would call themselves anti-life or anti-choice and so it's better if we just call people what they are," KOMU 8 News Director Stacey Woelfel said. "People are either pro-abortion rights or anti-abortion rights."

In this case, there was a comment about KOMU's recent coverage of the stem cell ballot initiative.

"it looks to me like you're not reporting it fairly. It looks to me like you're shading it to get more money for the university research ....

What i'm trying to say is ...We're not opposed to all stem cell research. There's been a lot of useful gains with adult stem cells. We're only opposed to embryonic stem cell research. There's a lot of difference just like coffee and tea. Please report this like it is."

Edited by: Tara Grimes

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