BOOKSMART
The lines between news and commentary and propaganda are more blurred than ever before. Despite the proliferation of media platforms, the public’s appetite for information is increasingly shrinking as people easily find narrow programming that reflects their views and biases.
In his book Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation, NPR media critic Eric Deggans said he seeks to “decode the ways media outlets profit by segmenting Americans. I call it the Tyranny of the Broad Niche; what happens as the biggest pieces of an increasingly fragmented audience are courted at the expense of many others.”
Deggans writes that the competition for eyes, ears and website clicks have driven news and information programs to play upon long-simmering fears and prejudices, using the same tactics employed by political parties and advocacy groups to send coded messages to their followers, including demonizing the opposition, in an effort to increase audience share.
Critic
Finds
Media Outlets
Trade
in Fear
and Prejudice
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