Obama, McCain, the media and the voting public

10 comments September 16th, 2008

 

This little blog does all right in terms of traffic and readership, but I’m not so foolish as to think its net effect on the world of politics is much above zero.

Applesauce is a microscopic speck in a media universe of countless millions of images, words and voices. No matter its strongly partisan slant, it probably changes few, if any, minds among its readers.  Its mostly entertainment for those who come here from the left and right to argue among themselves and with the host. Never once has anybody said: By God, you’re right about that; I never considered the points you’ve made here. Nor has any commenter here said that to another.

At best, this blog is merely a low-power electronic stimulus for the brains of a comparative handful of political junkies. I like to think of it as fun — and the regular visitors seem to enjoy themselves —  but I don’t kid myself that it’s of any great importance.

Having said all this, I also recognize that Applesauce is not  unlike political media in general.  We’re all part of the noise. As the political media multiply in numbers, the potential for meaningful impact diminishes amid a cacophony of conflicting messages.

These media play by rules that are constantly changing or that they mostly make up themselves. I say things here that I could never have said in a newspaper in my early years in the business. Some of what I say here would have been a sensation, if not a scandal, not so long ago. Today, it’s mild in comparison with what certain others are saying.

Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly say things on cable television that never would have passed muster with network executives less than a generation ago. They’re part of a phenomenon that has diminished the audience and influence of the three major nightly newscasts that ruled the airwaves for more than 40 years. Yet, on any given night, all but a tiny slice of the American public is paying no attention whatever to Olbermann or O’Reilly. And even at that, they’re preaching mostly to their respective choirs.

We’re all part of what futurist Alvin Toffler once called “demassification of the media.” And we’re all contributing to a media fog that is transforming, for better or worse, the way we do politics and almost everything else in this country and this world. The influences in this regard include every form of media, electronic and otherwise, from the fading behemoths to the little voices in the proverbial wilderness.

Which brings me, finally, to the essay that provoked this little tangential rant I’ve foisted upon you. It’s from Adam Nagourney, and it relates more directly to the matters suggested by the headline on this post. You can read it HERE.