Using reddit as a gauge of public opinion blows my mind, especially coming from CNN whose industry means they should know better. People in entertainment and marketing love reddit, but they will tell you flat out its not because of it being a measure of public opinion, but of it being an excellent marketing tool with many opportunities and successes. Its not hard to get a few posts viral in a niche interest subreddit, and have your product practically ordained by the community as a result. It's a marketers forum, and has been that way since the digg migration brought in plenty of fish, if not earlier.