But we're under no obligation to inflate that balloon. Which brings up the old controversy of news packaged as entertainment, in the name of ratings. No, say Republicans, who believe their convention is town meeting rather than Hollywood hokum and that reporting it does not belong to cable alone. Everything doesn't have to be controversial news. But in some cases, there is an overkill of information.
All networks clutter the screen with material.
In coverage yesterday, FOX, for example, included a talking head, an info-box, a segment title, a station ID and a running stock report on the same screen, at the same time. The networks, meanwhile, continue to bow out. America is on the verge of having a subscription democracy. If you're not wired in, you're disconnected from the political process.