EDITORIAL: Amy Schneider’s winning streak comes to an end and countless news sources ruined the game for viewers
Photo of the “Jeopardy!” stage courtesy of Flickr.
Ren Sikes | Opinions Editor
The duty of a news organization is to provide information to the public as it becomes available. Many people rely on news organizations to keep them up to date on current events. That being said, even if you have the information as soon as it is available you shouldn’t always publish it right away.
After amassing a 40 game winning streak, “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider’s streak came to an end. Schneider left with $1,382,000 and the second longest streak in the show’s history.
Despite the loss, Schneider will continue to be apart of “Jeopardy!” history as well as transgender history. News organizations like the New York Times and the Washington Post will go down in history as the world’s biggest spoilers.
On Wednesday, Jan. 26, “Jeopardy!” aired at 7 p.m EST in New York, as it does in several east coast markets. However, in other east coast markets like Boston, it aired at 7:30 p.m EST. Not to mention different time zones and those who record the show to watch it at a different time.
Washington Post, as well as several other notable news sources, sent out push notifications at 7:35 p.m announcing the winner of the Jan. 26 game. Not only spoiling the conclusion of the game but also the final jeopardy clue.
Anyone who had push notifications on had their nights ruined after spoiling “Jeopardy!”, leaving many people outraged.
As someone who is very involved in mass media today, whether that is tv shows, movies, books, etc; I understand the importance of the “no spoilers” rule. I too was outraged after finding out that The Washington post did this. What purpose did they serve besides upsetting hundreds of people?
A news organization should not be so quick to publish information the moment they get it. If it is not immediately important – like the results of an election for example – then it can wait. Especially if it is entertainment based. You are allowed to wait until the next day to publish the results of a popular game show.
The way I see it, if you could live without knowing the information for one day, don’t publish it. The people have the right to know the information, but they also have the right to find that information out for themselves if they can.
Long story short, don’t spoil “Jeopardy!”.
For more opinion pieces, like Flyer News on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@FlyerNews) and Instagram (@flyernews).