Time and news: The media's limitations as an instrument of democracy

As traditional institutions have weakened, the news media have been expected to carry more of the burden of organizing public opinion and debate. In general, however, the news agenda is an unsuitable basis for political action. There are always critical problems facing society, but whether they play a large or small part in the news, and do so in a true or distorted form, depends significantly on how they conform to the time-driven demands of the news cycle. The news is deliberately shortsighted, is rooted in novelty rather than precision, and focuses on fastbreaking events rather than enduring issues.