Feeding the Beast

The growth of 24-hour news stations, such as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and FOX NEWS, created a demand for an inexhaustible flow of stories and guests. However, the nightly news programs on the three major networks struggle to find enough real news to fill the small allotments of time between the commercials every weekday, so the relentless need for up-to-the-minute broadcasts on cable news stations leads to a high volume of stories with hyped or exaggerated value. The news sources featured in the documentary have a fairly easy job; most of them are beat reporters who file a story everyday. Sitting around conference tables, the editors and journalists democratically debate the value of each proposed story and provide needed feedback to their coworkers. Sources appear to be screened and biases are at least addressed in these mainstream outlets. This vetting process is highly suspect and probably less rigid in the newsrooms of cable networks.

Feeding the beast by pumping the airwaves full of pundits, cable news somehow turned into the nightmarish prophecy described by Paddy Chayefsky in the film Network. Anchors assuming the role of demagogues, sensationalism eclipsing real news and ratings becoming the defining characteristic of news.

Every single night, network and cable news shows rerun the exact same episode. First, a suicide bombing is reported; then, the threat of a new pandemic is analyzed; and finally, a human interest story leaves the viewer with a warm, happy feeling.

Cable news is a vast wasteland for political discourse and what it lacks in thought, it makes up for it with egomaniacal hosts. Nearly every corner of CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News is permeated with programs that sensationalize the mundane and turn unsubstantiated rumors into political talking points. With news coverage that schizophrenically shifts from hyperbole to opinion to news to hyperbole, it is easy to see why so many disaffected Americans abandoned reality for the far extremes of political lunacy. Hard news is not even expected from the networks. Reporters that pound the pavement and track down sources--like the ones chronicled in the documentary--are becoming few and far between. Instead, opinions are now streamlined into the public’s veins like an IV drip.

The changing of the guard that occurred with President Barack Obama’s Inauguration was not limited to the White House. Media coverage of the event reflected a similar shift in American power. Television, newspapers, radio--every news medium underwent a shift. The bombastic punditry of Fox News was replaced with the bombastic punditry of MSNBC. A study of the inner workings at FOX or MSNBC would be just as revelatory as this documentary. If the press is supposed to be the ubiquitous gatekeeper of the news, then they have strayed away from their objectives.

Cultivating a democratic populace is reliant on an informed citizenry with a respect for the convictions of others. This state of mind is difficult to obtain, especially on vexing issues, but continually questioning the news and how it is conveyed to the viewer is a tenant in democracy.