Zócalo Public SquareCan Sensationalism Save Democracy? – Zócalo Public Square https://legacy.zocalopublicsquare.org Ideas Journalism With a Head and a Heart Mon, 21 Oct 2024 07:01:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Can Sensationalism Save Democracy? https://legacy.zocalopublicsquare.org/2014/10/22/can-sensationalism-save-democracy/ideas/up-for-discussion/ https://legacy.zocalopublicsquare.org/2014/10/22/can-sensationalism-save-democracy/ideas/up-for-discussion/#respond Wed, 22 Oct 2014 07:02:14 +0000 Zocalo https://legacy.zocalopublicsquare.org/?p=56248 Earlier this year, Stephen Colbert triumphantly declared “the first real scandal” of the Obama administration after CNN reported that veterans had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix Veterans Affairs system. In a classic Colbert satire, he then ran through a laundry list of White House scandals: “I know I’ve cried wolf before, what with Benghazi and the IRS, and the AP and Fast and Furious and Solyndra and Obama’s uncle and Obama’s aunt and Obama’s birth certificate … . But this one is different. It’s backed up by eyewitnesses and documents and the betrayal of sick veterans. It’s like Christmas morning.” Which scandals matter and deserve the hyper-attention of our 24-hour news cycle? In advance of the Zócalo “Has the Media’s Obsession With Scandal Ruined American Politics?”, we asked experts in political science and communications: What can the American media do to cover politics in a way that helps our democracy?

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]]> Earlier this year, Stephen Colbert triumphantly declared “the first real scandal” of the Obama administration after CNN reported that veterans had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix Veterans Affairs system. In a classic Colbert satire, he then ran through a laundry list of White House scandals: “I know I’ve cried wolf before, what with Benghazi and the IRS, and the AP and Fast and Furious and Solyndra and Obama’s uncle and Obama’s aunt and Obama’s birth certificate … . But this one is different. It’s backed up by eyewitnesses and documents and the betrayal of sick veterans. It’s like Christmas morning.”

Which scandals matter and deserve the hyper-attention of our 24-hour news cycle? In advance of the Zócalo “Has the Media’s Obsession With Scandal Ruined American Politics?”, we asked experts in political science and communications: What can the American media do to cover politics in a way that helps our democracy?

The post Can Sensationalism Save Democracy? appeared first on Zócalo Public Square.

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