Looking at it all objectively, I would say the news platforms have barely begun their coverage of the 2024 Presidential election.
We have just entered primary election season and aside from the frigid conditions setting the tone for the Iowa Caucus, there is not much to really delve into for the boatload of news staff casting off for a month’s long struggle for relevancy.
It will be a struggle down to the wire of what’s a forgone conclusion for the race itself. Despite the legal battles, mudslinging, and ever-increasing concerns and criticisms about health and age, the day-to-day election coverage and sidebar content is likely to be as predictable as the names of the candidates themselves.
I do not envy those out on the campaign trail. You know, the reporters who are doing the real coverage and face what the news audiences are developing or might already be suffering from, election candidate fatigue.
If we remind ourselves that a fundamental design of the news business is to engage and entertain, that’s going to be a tall order between now and November 5th.
The issues involved with the campaigns will still be out there for the voting public to consider but those concerns, each and every one of them will be cloak, tainted if you will by the labels of inquiry already placed upon the main players.
Who is a criminal? Which ones are cognitively challenged? Who is out for vengeance? Who could potentially hand off the reins of power mid-term?
And again, who has had too many birthdays?
Yes, those and many more considerations are up to the voter to sift through but in the coming weeks and months can or will the reporters be able to stay away from them?
The networks and parent media companies have teams of correspondents and staff dedicated to the countless hours of coverage and programming leading up to November, but I think it is reasonable to ask how focused those journalists will be on the issues the voters face.
The audience might find those perhaps juicier elements that adhere to the candidates of entertainment value but how long will that last?
When will the weariness set in?
The fatigue and frustration will have implications on more than one level. What’s actually important to the voter and the audience will be shoved to the side and potentially ignored completely and those same tired audience members will step away from that kind of coverage on every platform.
The latter will have far-reaching effects.
It’s hard to get viewers, listeners, and readers to come back to you after you’ve lost them.
Bore me once, shame on you. Bore me twice, shame on me and where’s the remote?
Humans are creatures of habit and they are inherently vindictive, even if they don’t realize it.
If Kimmel turns somebody off one night and they switch over to Colbert, is Jimmy likely to see them again?
Like it or it or not, news has a steadfast obligation to do the right thing. Sure, they may forget it a lot but most of the time somebody remembers just in time.
That right thing is knowing what’s important and necessary and when to weed out the redundant noise that the audience can easily get from the talk shows, cable channels, and social media groups.
There are and always will be far more people interested in the legitimate matters we all are facing. Anyone, okay almost anyone can read a press release, watch a news conference, or tune into a state department briefing but most everyone looks to their news people to interpret or at least summarize it for them.
These are people who want to know what leadership is doing about any one of countless situations and developments and they may no longer have the time or patience for the redundant gossip-like trivialities that are easy to grasp from the air.
Of course, all those issues listed above are of importance, major importance. Everyone needs to know who can be trusted and who just says they can be trusted.
But remember, that goes just as much for the journalists and the news people out there. And yes, very often there are big differences between the two.
It goes back to the simple task of giving the audience what they want and need and also giving them the credit for knowing themselves, exactly what that is.
Bill Zito has devoted most of his work efforts to broadcast news since 1999. He made the career switch after serving a dozen years as a police officer on both coasts. Splitting the time between Radio and TV, he’s worked for ABC News and Fox News, News 12 New York , The Weather Channel and KIRO and KOMO in Seattle. He writes, edits and anchors for Audacy’s WTIC-AM in Hartford and lives in New England. You can find him on Twitter @BillZitoNEWS.
