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Profit and fear

By Paul Campos

On May 1, 2022

At 8:57 am

In General

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The 1970s local TV news mantra was “If it bleeds it leads.”

In Chuck’s and Maggie’s and Chris’s 2022 it’s more like “if it’s fash it’s cash.”

Good thread on the economics of contemporary political media from Jared Yates Sexton:

As we face growing extremism and authoritarianism, we have to take a long, hard look at how our media is directly programmed to reward demagogues and profit off fear and instability.

Until we address this, it's only going to get worse.

1/https://t.co/o501bMqxo9— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) April 29, 2022

The epitome of this dynamic are the White House correspondents complaining bitterly that the job is now too boring and not good for their careers and future book deals. This Politico story reads a lot more like some sort of pomo self-consuming parody than actual reporting but here we are:

“Jen [Psaki] is very good at her job, which is unfortunate,” one reporter who has covered the past two administrations from the room said. “And the work is a lot less rewarding, because you’re no longer saving democracy from Sean Spicer and his Men’s Wearhouse suit. Jawing with Jen just makes you look like an asshole.” . . .
“It’s a boring and difficult job. It’s tough to be a White House correspondent if you want to break news, they’re so airtight,” another reporter who covered both the Trump and Biden White Houses from the briefing room. “There’s no Maggie [Haberman]. Who’s the Maggie of the Biden administration? It doesn’t exist.”

I know you keep us amused, but I feel we’re being used.