I read something in the Lexington column in The Economist this morning that struck me as true. The writer observed that over the last decade or so we have seen the “rise of a media industry based on outrage.”
Until I read it, I would not have been able to put words to it as concisely as the writer, but I’ve been struck by the same thing. So much of the news we consume has been pitched emotionally to produce outrage and this is done in large part by demonisation of those with whom we disagree.
Obama is the current focus of rage from the right end of the political spectrum, but the exact same rage from the opposite end of the political spectrum targeted Bush. And I see little, if any, good coming out of hate.
Instead it feels like outrage has gutted us like a fish at the very time when we sorely need to work together. The Lexington writer reaches the same conclusion: “This is not only poisoning American political life. It is making it ever harder to solve problems that require cross-party collaboration such as reforming America’s health care system or its pensions.”
Of course it is always easier to decry a problem than offer a constructive solution, but I for one would love to see us find a way to abandon a media industry based on outrage… maybe by simply refusing to listen. What am I missing here?
