3 ms·

Perhaps 'accidental moderate'='independent' and 'intentional moderate'='centrist'?

• msla 7y ago
  "Intentional moderate" = High Broderism, or at least the popular understanding of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_S._Broder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_S._Broder http://pressthink.org/2010/06/clowns-to-the-left-of-me-jokers-to-the-right-on-the-actual-ideology-of-the-american-press/ http://pressthink.org/2010/06/clowns-to-the-left-of-me-joker... The above has this quote, which sums it up nicely: > Journalists associate the middle with truth, when there may be no reason to… Writing the news so that it lands somewhere near the “halfway point between the best and the worst that might be said about someone” is not a truthtelling impulse at all, but a refuge-seeking one, and it’s possible that this ritual will distort a given story.
  • lowmagnet 7y ago
    I think this is a good summary of why meeting in the middle is a poor excuse for balance. The average isn't the ideal middle, as almost nothing fits the average. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/on-average/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/on-average/
    • dfxm12 7y ago
      Exactly. This is especially true in the context of contemporary US Politics, where the average between the Democrats and Republicans is way right of the political center. In any case, I guess it all comes down to this: “A good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied” -Larry David
  • rabidrat 7y ago
    On average, humans have one breast and one testicle.