Unpacking the Con ict 257Why do journalists ignore details and emphasize scandal? Describing the media
as an information source for citizens makes sense in terms of how American politics
works, but this description does not capture the sometimes contradictory incentives
that journalists face. They may feel the need to demonstrate their independence from
politicians and government interests and perhaps counter or prevent claims of media
bias. And this may lead to aggressive questioning of elected officials and cynical stories
about the political process.^41 But again, reporters and their editors are in a competitive
business to attract a paying audience.^42 Most American media outlets are for-profit
enterprises. Because they need to produce coverage that attracts an audience, they
often seek to create stories that consumers want. So if the media focus on something
that seems frivolous like Donald Trump’s hair or the outfits worn by his press secretary,
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, it is because these stories find a ready audience.
Even if reporters for major news outlets tried to explain how our democratic
government works or the complexity of most policy questions, it is unlikely that citizens
would respond favorably. There are sources available that work this way. The nightly
television program PBS NewsHour has a reputation for producing thoughtful, in-depth
stories about politics and policy. The same is true for the magazine National Journal. But
the audience for these sources is minuscule, confirming that most people would prefer
soft news, cynicism, and scandals to hard news, policy details, and sober analysis.
Thus, complaints about how the media cover American politics are to a large extent
misdirected. The media give Americans the coverage they want. If the average citizen
wants to become an expert on politics and public policy, the necessary information is
surely available. But few people are interested in seeking that degree of understanding.
For most Americans, the media’s coverage of politics as a sports event is enough to
keep them satisfied, even as they complain about a lack of details and an emphasis
on scandal.Reporters compete for an audience—that’s how they stay in business. That means
that stories you consider important (or that really are important) may not get media
attention because they’re too hard to explain or because people aren’t interested. The
only way to get more detailed, thoughtful political coverage is for Americans to start
demanding it.“Why
Should
I Care?”
Unpacking the Conflict
Considering all that we’ve discussed in this chapter, let’s apply what we know about
the media to understanding why social media has not transformed American politics.
Social media was supposed to inform us and bring us together—what went wrong?
News media are the primary source of public information about American politics
and policy. The considerable controversy about how well the media fulfill their
information-providing role reflects both the importance of the task and the interest
many people have in how political coverage is shaped. As we have shown, while the
rise of social media has transformed the media as an industry and as an information
provider, it has not changed how Americans form opinions as people a generation ago
hoped it would.Full_08_APT_64431_ch07_232-261.indd 257 16/11/18 1:40 PM