I'll Have a Cup of Information, Please Make it Lukewarm.

In a world where the most extreme positions often generate the most awareness, the “mainstream media” — defined for these purposes as the three foundational networks (CBS, NBC and ABC) — are recording viewership levels not seen in a generation. During the week of April 13, the evening news for the networks attracted about 30 million viewers, maintaining the numbers that have followed them largely since the virus became the focus of the nation.

To be certain, cable news has experienced its own rise in popularity but is nowhere near the networks in terms of viewership. The most viewed cable show — Fox News Special Report with Bret Baier — comes in around 5.75 million, while the big three commentary channels, Fox, MSNBC and CNN, chime in with about 10 million combined, an increase of about 4 million in the last month. A portion of the increase in those cable news shows reflects their coverage of the daily Coronavirus press briefings, a decided attraction for many of the new viewers.

The leading network news show (ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir) will often exceed the viewership of the three cable news shows combined. Of particular interest, the “prime demographic” of 25-54 has fully engaged in the network embrace. All of these numbers — network and cable — are fairly steady since the WHO first declared the pandemic over five weeks ago, with no recent loss of momentum.

Surprised? Is it unexpected that the old fashioned evening news, largely devoid of extreme opinion and controversy, is by leaps and bounds the dominant source of information in a period where information is so critical? Perhaps it shouldn’t be.

First of all, the networks have always been more popular than the cable stations, holding more viewers in every period. Where they have been far behind being in their impact on the national conversation — the last times we spoke about a network anchor making news, those anchors lost their jobs. Cable hosts who make the news are heroes of their genre, carrying a banner for the portion of America whose views they represent and amplify. And that’s the point…

In our hearts, as much as we enjoy the affirmation of our deeply held biases, we know that our chosen voices are pushing the boundaries of what they share. We know that, while they are telling us truths (we really do believe that, by the way) those truths are slanted in our direction, just two-thirds of the whole story. We know that what we are watching will be an hour of information and commentary that confirms us, rather than ask us to make a decision or interpret, and while we agree with their agenda, we know that one exists.

In a world where real information is — actually, truly — life and death, a very important part of us wants the story without too much embellishment, quickly and easily understood. Network news, consolidated into thirty familiar minutes with short segments and few guests, fits the moment and serves the needs. Oh, we surely will check in on our cable shows; after all, we need to know that what we’re feeling/fearing/wishing for is right in uncertain times, and that’s readily available there… but at the end of the day, we also want to know, we need to know, what all the real numbers are, regardless of whether we like them or wish they were otherwise.

So, why is so much of the conversation about the cable hosts and their positions? Why do we feel as if they are larger than life, critical contributors to the national discourse?

There are several reasons. First of all, no surprise, controversy always sells, and when we can wrap that controversy around a personality, it’s a home run. There is a significant part of us that wants to be moved passionately, regardless of whether it is positively or negatively. Ask a Fox viewer about Rachel Madow, or an MSNBC fan about Sean Hannity, and step back… there is nothing measured about the response. Then ask the same person to share the last story that their antagonist reported that really got their goat, and take notes… since they’ve never actually watched the subject of their scorn, the likely answer will be a generic position rather than a specific story.

The second reason is the echo chamber. Cable commentators provide the sharp contrast quotes and angled stories that can then be commented on by a thousand “reporters”; it’s easy to grab a story of a lightning rod show and embellish or amplify it, far easier than digging up an original idea and fleshing it out. In a world where the unprecedented available resources for research and analysis are omnipresent, it remains true that the majority of these reporters appear too lazy to do even that work.

There are numerous things about virtually all of the current media to be criticized, and I’m first in line to do so. The absence of critical analysis, the parroting of provided talking points, the scarcity of quality investigative reporting, the lack of meaningful debate or contrast are all legitimate criticisms among many. The demise of the news industry, coopted by the profit motive, dispersed among a thousand fragmented internet portals and drowned out by a cacophony of overly loud commentators cum standard bearers has had profound effects on our politics and our lives. Understood.

That said, it is instructive that during the impeachment hearings and subsequent Senate trial, the flocking to the networks was notably absent. Even cable’s ratings were only slightly elevated, and erratically so. Why? My suspicion is that we knew all along that (a) the end result would be nothing, and (b) because of that, the outcome wasn’t important to us. We rooted for our team, but when we went to bed we didn’t stay up late worrying.

The virus is different. It has stolen from our family, our neighbourhood, our list of familiars. It has taken our jobs, our habits, our freedoms and given nothing back. Unlike the impeachment, it dominates our real lives; there is no cartoon heroes and villains, no morality play, just the deadly seriousness of a true, implacable crisis that we have to deal with every time we get out of bed. And so, we’re not as interested in entertainment, not as committed to the affirmation of our beliefs… we need to know, and as imperfect as the news media is, we gravitate to the closest thing to clean, the simple truth that we can find.

Because, deep in our hearts, we know that what is easier times we quote, what we claim to follow, isn’t that simple. What I think will be interesting is whether — when this plague finally retreats — whether the coloured shades of cable news will be the same again… or whether the awareness that there is a critical value in real information rather than infotainment will spawn a cadre of truly sincere newshounds, a movement not to the middle of the ideological spectrum, but a massive jump off of it entirely.

If that occurs, then that will truly be news.