The Two-year Marketing That Repeats Every Four Years

David Lee
David Lee
Jul 23, 2017 · 1 min read

Does the way cable news has been covering presidential elections build the demand for pungent outcome?

Demand is built by consistently reminding a person of a product’s existence. And that cable news hand over microphone to anyone more likely to increase ratings is well-known.

But consider also the way cable news advertise their own coverage of presidential elections. One expects a very zingy outcome in a show that has been advertised with fanfare for days. Over two years such fanfare never ceases on TV screens.

That there is motivation for cable news to promote an underdog — who wants to watch a car chase where distance between protagonist and antagonist is a hundred miles? — also seems troubling.

In this excitement-on-screen-or-starve world, it would seem abnormal, in fact, to expect a boring outcome.

I, for one, would like to see cable news become a force for good.

David Lee

Written by

David Lee

Recommended book: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (https://amzn.to/2OE1tL0)

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade