Function after Form: The Democratic Detriment of Episodic Television News
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15173/mjc.v4i0.238Keywords:
Episodic, news, television, trivialization, political bias, pro-establishment, political cynicism, television medium, reporting, sound bite, post-structuralism,Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact of television news upon political mobilization and awareness. In particular, it places a strong emphasis on the inherent inability of episodic news to form a cognitive framework through which to understand current events. The paper begins with preliminary statements on the significance of television news and describes the limits of the paper’s scope. It then examines the correlation of episodic television news with political cynicism, the trivialization of news content, and the formation of a pro-establishment attitude among viewers. A greater stress is placed upon the way in which television news is presented than upon news content or on the paucity of social capital. In conclusion, an argument is made for the imposition of sound bite quotas, with the desire to counter the handicaps of the episodic medium.
