To Inform or Entertain?
May 1, 2012
In 1980, Ted Turner founded the Cable News Network (CNN), providing 24-hour television news coverage. This new 24-hour news cycle brought about a faster pace of news production. According to the CNN effect theory, this new cycle had a major impact on policy: it drove policymakers to choose their position quickly with minimal time to reflect.
According to the 2010 national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, television was the most widely used source for national and international news. 66% of Americans said it was their main source of news.
In 2011, the top three cable news stations were: 1) Fox 2) MSNBC 3) CNN
On the Civility and Political Discourse panel, Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) charged the 24-hour news cycle with creating controversy. This cycle leaves news provides grasping to fill air-time with content that will attract consumers on a nonstop basis–which oftentimes incentivizes generating and covering controversy. Ted Simons of KAET-TV's HORIZON echoed these sentiments. At the same time, now, consumers are bombarded with information 24/7 from many different news sources. If a news segment runs too long, is too deep or has no drama it's buried by other, more appealing stories.
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ 15) accuses the media of rewarding politicians who make outrageous and extreme comments with air time. She believes that those who successfully participate in deliberative debates and compromises are largely ignored in favor of entertainment. To her point, Senator Bennett adds that televising the Senate has encouraged politicians to perform for the cameras instead of debating the issues.
Moderator Aaron Brown (PBS, formerly CNN and ABC) pushes back against these criticisms of the media. News is a business. They do what they do because it gets viewers and makes money.
Do we expect the media to operate fundamentally as a business, or to play the role of the ''honest broker'' in mediating public dialogue? Watch this clip to see what the panel had to say:
Video clip from the ''Keynote Panel on Civility and Political Discourse'' convened by NCoC and the Bipartisan Policy Center at the 66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship in September 2011.