Aug. 3, 2015
Too much of television news is now about the fight between the panelists, not the issues. The show "Crossfire" on CNN institutionalized this approach on a nightly basis starting in the early 1980s. For decades, there has been a premium on panelists who can light up the airwaves with dramatic and contentious arguments. As with professional hockey games, viewers often tune in to see the panelists go after one another rather than try to rationally work through the problems of the day. The incentives for television hosts and panelists is to be confrontational and to be shocking. That draws the ratings.