Hi Ethan - I have a number of family members who are addicted to the "extreme polarization and negative partisanship" pushed by Fox news. As Fox has proven for decades, anxiety and fear are addictive, so that is what they peddle.
In other words, it isn't just social media driving the destabilization of society, it is the closed loop of social media and dishonest television (and talk radio) media... it is Fox "news" and their ilk.
I've done the experiment of watching Fox for a week. They present an Orwellian, dystopian nightmare of disinformation and white entitlement. And they are loved and respected by at least a third of the American audience, and even more around the world.
Hi Peabody, this is a really smart point. First, though, I’m sorry to hear about your family members’ addiction to Fox News, I know that can be quite painful. Also, I’m extremely impressed you did a full week watching Fox News. I’ve been following Fox News and its influence since at least 2004 and I’ve never made it a week - and I’ve tried!
To your point about Fox inventing the narrow-cast media strategy before the social internet existed, I agree. I’m going to write about this at some point, but I see cable news today as a kind of smaller, parallel internet. Decades ago it was the first place (along with talk radio) where the mass audience broadcast strategy really changed, and now the Fox News TV channel functions kind of like a Twitter feed for (mostly) older and conservative people, only curated by Fox producers and show hosts rather than individuals. That’s a long way of saying Fox News, talk radio, and the right-wing internet ecosystem are all part of a larger echo chamber. This is perhaps most clearly seen in the fact that Fox News clips circulate on the internet, Fox News TV hosts have podcasts, and in some ways Fox News’ content is meant as much for online consumption as for its TV viewers’ direct consumption.
Does that resonate with you and what you’ve seen? Interested to hear your view on it.
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly that Fox "news" content is intended to be consumed across all kinds of media. And I'm impressed that you have been studying RW media since 2004; my journey didn't begin in earnest until 2009. These days my primary forays into that world are reading the missives from @mmfa on Twitter.
However, I feel like this is the biggest news story of the past two decades - the exponential growth of RW propaganda and its intentional destabilizing effect - but this story has been largely MIA from reliable news sources.
I hear my family members repeat the same contemptuous phrases regarding Democrats, and then I hear elected Republicans spewing the exact same phrases uttered by my family. It appears to me that corporate RW media is in complete control of the elected members of the Republican party. The tail has wagged the dog.
Resultingly, the elemental intent of the Framers - compromise - has been undone. How is compromise possible when Republicans falsely assert that Democrats are destroying the country, over and over within their echo chamber? And don't get me started on civility.
I believe that this Murdoch-aligned business model has rendered our Constitution unusable, unstable and obsolete.
I loved, absolutely LOVED, your column about dividing all the counties in the USA into half Red and half Blue. Simply brilliant.
I have been reading the NY Times since I was 15, and I'm 65 now (woohoo! Medicare!). The Times is my polestar for factual journalism. However, the Times rarely covers the Disinformation War presently underway. (And what we're in right now isn't a Father Coughlin-type situation.) This war, and the destabilizing effects of this war, are simply not covered enough within the rational media.
Hi Ethan - I have a number of family members who are addicted to the "extreme polarization and negative partisanship" pushed by Fox news. As Fox has proven for decades, anxiety and fear are addictive, so that is what they peddle.
In other words, it isn't just social media driving the destabilization of society, it is the closed loop of social media and dishonest television (and talk radio) media... it is Fox "news" and their ilk.
I've done the experiment of watching Fox for a week. They present an Orwellian, dystopian nightmare of disinformation and white entitlement. And they are loved and respected by at least a third of the American audience, and even more around the world.
Hi Peabody, this is a really smart point. First, though, I’m sorry to hear about your family members’ addiction to Fox News, I know that can be quite painful. Also, I’m extremely impressed you did a full week watching Fox News. I’ve been following Fox News and its influence since at least 2004 and I’ve never made it a week - and I’ve tried!
To your point about Fox inventing the narrow-cast media strategy before the social internet existed, I agree. I’m going to write about this at some point, but I see cable news today as a kind of smaller, parallel internet. Decades ago it was the first place (along with talk radio) where the mass audience broadcast strategy really changed, and now the Fox News TV channel functions kind of like a Twitter feed for (mostly) older and conservative people, only curated by Fox producers and show hosts rather than individuals. That’s a long way of saying Fox News, talk radio, and the right-wing internet ecosystem are all part of a larger echo chamber. This is perhaps most clearly seen in the fact that Fox News clips circulate on the internet, Fox News TV hosts have podcasts, and in some ways Fox News’ content is meant as much for online consumption as for its TV viewers’ direct consumption.
Does that resonate with you and what you’ve seen? Interested to hear your view on it.
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly that Fox "news" content is intended to be consumed across all kinds of media. And I'm impressed that you have been studying RW media since 2004; my journey didn't begin in earnest until 2009. These days my primary forays into that world are reading the missives from @mmfa on Twitter.
However, I feel like this is the biggest news story of the past two decades - the exponential growth of RW propaganda and its intentional destabilizing effect - but this story has been largely MIA from reliable news sources.
I hear my family members repeat the same contemptuous phrases regarding Democrats, and then I hear elected Republicans spewing the exact same phrases uttered by my family. It appears to me that corporate RW media is in complete control of the elected members of the Republican party. The tail has wagged the dog.
Resultingly, the elemental intent of the Framers - compromise - has been undone. How is compromise possible when Republicans falsely assert that Democrats are destroying the country, over and over within their echo chamber? And don't get me started on civility.
I believe that this Murdoch-aligned business model has rendered our Constitution unusable, unstable and obsolete.
I loved, absolutely LOVED, your column about dividing all the counties in the USA into half Red and half Blue. Simply brilliant.
I have been reading the NY Times since I was 15, and I'm 65 now (woohoo! Medicare!). The Times is my polestar for factual journalism. However, the Times rarely covers the Disinformation War presently underway. (And what we're in right now isn't a Father Coughlin-type situation.) This war, and the destabilizing effects of this war, are simply not covered enough within the rational media.