The common denominator here is small-p passion. Every one of these editorials was written by somebody who cares deeply. And every reader picks up on that. We delude ourselves into thinking that we compete with television by becoming ever more superficial and focus group-driven. We delude ourselves because television s singular appeal has very little to do with how superficial it is.
Television is a great conveyor of emotion, real or feigned.
It has its brutally honest aspects. For instance, Richard Nixon could fool an ASNE lunch crowd into thinking he was a statesman. On TV, he was an oleaginous crook. People identify with television. They feel that the local haircuts who read them a hysterical version of the news are their families.