Here’s a thought for news media: What if nobody cares?
To be clear, plenty of people do care about the news right now. It’s a good thing for those who report or comment on it that so much is going on; there aren’t too many days when there’s nothing in the news worth talking about. But there’s a core audience for that, the politically active and aware people online. How about everyone else?
Think about it. We are going through a bizarre period in world history, especially in America, where “It Can’t Happen Here” is happening before our eyes. Everyone imagines that if it were the 1930s and they were in Europe, they’d have valiantly opposed the rise of Naziism and fascism, but that doesn’t seem likely, based on how people are reacting now.
Do they not care, are they burned out on the firehose of stories about the administration, or Gaza, or Ukraine, or deportations, and just don’t want to spend their time listening to talk about it or reading the details? Are they too exhausted to care?
Or do they really care more about the CEO of a company they never heard of before having an affair embarrassingly exposed at a Coldplay concert? (Mark me among those surprised to hear that there is still such a thing as a Coldplay concert, let alone a stadium tour.) Would the public prefer, rather than fretting over today’s news, to pay attention to less challenging things?
Yes to all of that, but it’s nothing new. There will always be a considerable portion of the American media-consuming public who will be focused on the news, although they have more sources, legitimate or not, for information. There will also always be the rest of society, who prefer just getting through the days. They care about their kids, their commute, their jobs, the cost of food, the weather, but they do not put those eye-level concerns together in their minds with the news until the effects of things in the news hits them squarely in the wallet. Until then, everything is abstract.
Tariffs will only become an issue they care about when the prices of things they want go up; deportations and due process violations don’t matter until it’s their family members or employees or neighbors getting sent to El Salvador. “I got my own problems” is the prevailing sentiment.
Remember, when cable news networks crow over who’s leading the ratings or talk radio points to their own relative popularity, that leaves the vast majority of Americans NOT watching the news, NOT listening to talk radio, NOT doomscrolling on social media (or just skipping the political stuff). Unless something cataclysmic happens, they’re all in on “Love Island” and football training camps.
You can’t entirely blame them, can you? How many of us have any say over what happens in the world besides the vote? And if you’re in a district with representatives gerrymandered into lifetime gigs who don’t represent your interests and never will, what are you gonna do? (A general strike would be a start, but that’s unlikely to ever happen.)
So, are you going to spend your leisure time listening to talk radio shows and watching cable news panels? Of course not. But when your paycheck, your employment, and your family are affected, they’ll pay attention. Be ready to make those connections when they become apparent.
And keep talking about the Epstein Files. That might be the only exception to the rule.
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Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
