[quote=“ActionAbe, post:33, topic:22356”]
That said, Fox News isn’t alone in mining the superficial for outrage. I think the format and the competition creates a need to sensationalize discussion of the superficial. The left is just as good at that.[/quote]
It took me a long time to realize how prevalent this is, even outside of TV news media, or in fact media in general. A couple years ago I gave up on MSNBC, HuffPo, and various progressive websites since their political “news” was basically celebrity gossip plus frustration and anger, and 80% of it was reporting on what right-wing media said.
A lot of good causes and not-so-good causes rely on outrage to sway opinion too. I used to think that was necessary – like the quote from the movie “Network”:
I want you to get mad! I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot - I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad.
But I’m starting to think we’re at a point where outrage is toxic, and we need to drive social change with the simple recognition than we can do better than this.
