Nov 7, 2017 3 min read

Journalists can be an ornery lot, and one thing that tends to raise the hackles – or at least the eyebrows – of the scribblers in the Fourth Estate is being told what questions to ask.

Hey, the thinking goes, if certain questions are off-limits, then journalists cease to be, well, journalists, and become nothing more than conduits for public relations. If the person being queried doesn’t want to answer a question, they can decline to comment, and that is usually that.

So it shouldn’t have been any surprise to the organizers of the 52nd Annual Country Music Association Awards, scheduled for Wednesday, that there was a considerable hue and cry when they attempted to throw down edicts on what reporters could ask backstage and on the red carpet. This came after they threatened to revoke the credentials of any journalists who asked about the following topics: the mass shooting in Las Vegas; issues surrounding gun rights; political affiliations; or “topics of the like.”

The guidelines reportedly stated, “It’s vital, more so than in years past due to the sensitivities at hand, that the CMA Awards be a celebration of country music and the artists that make this genre so great. It’s an evening to honor the outstanding achievements in country music of the previous year and we want everyone to feel comfortable talking to (the) press about this exciting time.”

You would expect journalists to sneer at these demands, but some of the performers were also not on board. Brad Paisley, the host of the program and a native of the Wheeling, W.Va. area, called the stipulations “ridiculous and unfair.” On Friday afternoon, the Country Music Association rescinded the rules, and issued an apology.

Sidestepping the Las Vegas tragedy would have been a dereliction of journalistic duty, considering the scores of people killed or injured were attending a country music festival. Given that circumstance, country music artists might well have something to say about it, whether it’s offering a full-throated defense of gun control, gun rights or mental health treatment. Some country performers have also not been shy about dipping their toes into the political waters, with Toby Keith performing at President Trump’s inauguration earlier this year, while the Dixie Chicks famously lost a chunk of their fan base speaking out against President George W. Bush and the Iraq conflict midway through the 2000s.

We live in turbulent times, art speaks to our current circumstances, and performers of all stripes can anticipate they will be interrogated about how they see the world. If they choose not to answer that is their right, but reporters should be able to ask them.