This is one reason journalism has seen better days. In today’s microspectacle world, what wins in the attention game is often the hot take, the incendiary headline, the rashly reported story, the “breaking news” that isn’t actually newsworthy. Cable news channels have far more air time to fill than there is real news to report, so they stack their schedules with talking head commentary, partisan debates, salacious scandals, celebrity divorces, and other infotainment to keep viewers glued to their screens—at least until another “breaking news” alert or “must see” viral video draws the viewer’s
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