A television-related pet peeve of mine is when newsreaders regularly begin stories by asking a question, such as: "Now, should drug addicts be paid to get sterilised?" and, "Should the UK fund toilets in Mumbai slums?" and, "Should people pay for new organs?"
The
BBC News Style Guide is on my side. Paragraph six, page 14 states:
• Do not start a news report with a question. The audience wants to be informed, not take part in a quiz.
I would go further than that by advising that the job of the news is to report the news, not to provide a social commentary or purposefully prompt the viewer to ask questions of themselves and society. Leave that to the Church (or the Mosque, or the Gurdwara).
Reports along the lines of, 'a leading think-tank has suggested...' are equally exasperating. A suggestion isn't news.