The most successful media outlets, it seems, are those with the largest capacity to generate the strongest emotional response. Similarly, the most successful politicians are those who seem to provide the most consistent flow of emotionally triggering subject matter for the media to repackage and produce for their audiences.
Let’s not get it twisted, the media doesn’t just flirt with controversy. It embraces it, full-on. And America has always had a big, yellow sweet tooth for rage-bait, a taste that just seems to get stronger.
Algorithms, video/image-based social media platforms, and artificially generated content—all these emerging tools support a framework that seats rage at the head of the table when it comes to winning politics and profitable media.
However, the more rage-obsessed media becomes, the less Americans trust it. According to Gallup, American trust in mass media is at its lowest point in 5 decades.
And although it feels like there may be no way to reverse such trends, that doesn't stop some from trying.
Author, podcaster, and self-proclaimed never-Trumper, Tim Miller (host of The Bulwark Podcast) was once a GOP strategist. He witnessed firsthand the backend process of manufacturing rage for political gain in the dawn of the Internet age. However, upon Trump’s ascension to power, Miller left politics and began calling out the perverse dynamic between his party and sensationalism.
Miller states in his book, Why We Did It, “No matter which role they were in, staffers began to see themselves as tacticians in this made-for-TV blood sport rather than as functionaries in a system that is aimed to produce the best policy outcomes for their fellow citizens.”
Presently, Tim Miller lives in New Orleans with his Husband and daughter (and tells Hoch that moving to NOLA is the “best decision we’ve made…”), where he continues his work writing and hosting podcasts for The Bulwark, an outlet with a mission to “to provide analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy.”
Miller stopped by WWL studios for an extended conversation with Ian Hoch to discuss his campaign against rage-baiting, the rise of Trump and MAGA, and why he thinks so many Republicans oppose his views.
“For me, I understand what draws people to Trump. And it’s not for me,” says Miller. “I was always a more moderate republican who liked somebody more in the John McCain mold. But I recognize that people are unhappy with the uniparty feel, and how the bipartisan leadership has governed things like the Iraq war to the housing crisis… People wanted something different, and people wanted someone who felt like he was fighting the establishment on behalf of regular people. And I think that Donald Trump has been very deft at offering an image that he is the person that is going to fight for people and fight for people. The problem is that it’s mostly BS.”
Listen to the full interview here or via the audio player above.
Related
