4 ms·

Politics is entertainment. No matter how slam-dunk an election may be, networks have an incentive to make it look like a photo-finish, in order to make the view

by lmkg 16y ago

Politics is entertainment. No matter how slam-dunk an election may be, networks have an incentive to make it look like a photo-finish, in order to make the viewing experience intense and drive viewer engagement. If you say "yeah, it's pretty much over by this point," your viewers have no reason to tune in for the rest of the week. If you say "it's so close, absolutely anything could tip the scales," people will keep watching your live coverage of butterflies in China. Tangent: I first realize this before I was of voting age, watching the same thing unfold on an episode of Survivor. For extra credit, describe how reality television and political election coverage have influenced each other in recent years.

ugh 16y ago
I wonder to what degree that’s US specific. I just don’t seem to see the same thing happening here in Germany. Our campaigns are much shorter and we have less of them, also no 24 hour news channels (none that count, nothing like what you have in the US). Coverage about the election is still dominated by the big public broadcasters and seems a lot less hectic. All not very entertaining, if you ask me.
- philwelch 16y ago
  Maybe it depends on what relationship you have with your government. Americans like to see their presidents, in particular, as Bold Heroes Leading The Free World...to do something, at least, whether it's building the Panama Canal or winning a war or sending men to the moon. We carve their faces into fucking mountainsides over here. Americans really want inspirational leaders who can be larger-than-life figures boldly changing history by sheer force of will. There's no tactful way to say this, but the last time Germany tried electing a bold, larger-than-life leader looking to change the course of history by sheer force of will, it didn't turn out too well. So I'm not surprised German culture has somewhat shied away from that tendency. Frankly I'd be happy if Americans were satisfied with electing dull but competent administrators rather than trying to look for epic historical figures. It gets the expectations all out of whack, and leads people who aren't up to it into making poor judgments.
  - wlievens 16y ago
    It's not a German thing. It's the same across Europe, certainly in countries that don't have a popularly elected head of state (the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, ...). Maybe it's just a Presidential thing? An election with one winner is probably more entertaining than an election where the most exciting outcome is party X gaining a slightly higher percentage than expected.
    - philwelch 16y ago
      I'm not sure about that--none of the fascist leaders were actually the head of state of their countries, at least to begin with (Germany had a ceremonial President, Italy and Spain had kings). You can get the same aspirational voting for a PM or Chancellor as you can for a President. But it's possible that Europe as a whole is cynical on having the kind of aspirational leaders Americans always try and go for.
qeorge 16y ago
A polisci professor of mine once said, "the media doesn't have a liberal or conservative bias, it has an entertainment bias."
- trop 16y ago
  "Marx, at about the same time, puts the point a little differently in his Eighteenth Brumaire, suggesting that it is only if you think like a newspaper that you will take the events of 1848 (or 1830) as front-page history; they belong on the theater page, or in the obituaries." - Stanley Cavell, The Senses of Walden

by lmkg 16y ago

ugh 16y ago

I wonder to what degree that’s US specific. I just don’t seem to see the same thing happening here in Germany. Our campaigns are much shorter and we have less of them, also no 24 hour news channels (none that count, nothing like what you have in the US). Coverage about the election is still dominated by the big public broadcasters and seems a lot less hectic. All not very entertaining, if you ask me.

philwelch 16y ago
Maybe it depends on what relationship you have with your government. Americans like to see their presidents, in particular, as Bold Heroes Leading The Free World...to do something, at least, whether it's building the Panama Canal or winning a war or sending men to the moon. We carve their faces into fucking mountainsides over here. Americans really want inspirational leaders who can be larger-than-life figures boldly changing history by sheer force of will. There's no tactful way to say this, but the last time Germany tried electing a bold, larger-than-life leader looking to change the course of history by sheer force of will, it didn't turn out too well. So I'm not surprised German culture has somewhat shied away from that tendency. Frankly I'd be happy if Americans were satisfied with electing dull but competent administrators rather than trying to look for epic historical figures. It gets the expectations all out of whack, and leads people who aren't up to it into making poor judgments.
- wlievens 16y ago
  It's not a German thing. It's the same across Europe, certainly in countries that don't have a popularly elected head of state (the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, ...). Maybe it's just a Presidential thing? An election with one winner is probably more entertaining than an election where the most exciting outcome is party X gaining a slightly higher percentage than expected.
  - philwelch 16y ago
    I'm not sure about that--none of the fascist leaders were actually the head of state of their countries, at least to begin with (Germany had a ceremonial President, Italy and Spain had kings). You can get the same aspirational voting for a PM or Chancellor as you can for a President. But it's possible that Europe as a whole is cynical on having the kind of aspirational leaders Americans always try and go for.

qeorge 16y ago

A polisci professor of mine once said, "the media doesn't have a liberal or conservative bias, it has an entertainment bias."

trop 16y ago
"Marx, at about the same time, puts the point a little differently in his Eighteenth Brumaire, suggesting that it is only if you think like a newspaper that you will take the events of 1848 (or 1830) as front-page history; they belong on the theater page, or in the obituaries." - Stanley Cavell, The Senses of Walden