The 24-Hour News Cycle is Failing Our Democracy
The news media, the heartbeat of the nation, the supposed watchdog of the government, and the defender of democracy has largely become little more than an echo chamber of partisan politics, peddling an illusion of information. How is it possible, in the era of information abundance, that we’ve ended up here?
This question is one we must ask if we’re to restore any semblance of sanity to our national discourse. There’s a need to address the elephant in the room — the news media is failing our democracy.
It’s in the Constitution
Let’s take a step back and remind ourselves of what journalism should be — a pillar of democracy. The Founding Fathers thought so highly of the press that they enshrined its freedom in the First Amendment. But somewhere along the line, we’ve allowed that sanctified institution to turn into an industry of illusion, a self-serving circus where truth is a rare act, overshadowed by the sophistry of ideological performance.
For the purposes of this essay, I’ll refer mostly to news as TV or “cable” news, but there is definitely an issue across the spectrum of news delivery channels, from newspapers to online, to social media, to radio, to TV.
