Let’s be honest about the final debate tonight between President Trump and Democrat nominee Joe Biden: we want conflict.
It is difficult for us to be honest with ourselves about what we like because what we like often goes against what we say we want. After the first debate, which was a free-for-all where basic rules were ignored, I have said I agree with muting the mics when each candidate is allowed 2 minutes for an uninterrupted response.
I have been critical of President Trump for not respecting the rules of the first debate. The day after that debate I said the candidates’ mics should be muted for the next debate, and that is exactly what the debate commission did.
However, on some primal level I want some conflict. I do not want a structured debate to the point where there are no surprises. Regardless of how you feel about his politics or his demeanor, President Trump is a media attraction.
On my talk show, I constantly offer my perspective as a student of mass media, and its relationship with society (the audience) can reduce the role of news to nothing more than a form of entertainment. This may not be a good thing, but it is reality.
News outlets, especially the cable news networks - Fox News, CNN and MSNBC - are designed to attract the largest possible audience for the purpose of generating revenue.
A combination of the 24-hour news channels and reality TV that responds to the innate voyeuristic instincts of the audience has turned the news into programming that must include the basic elements of any form of entertainment. Think about the news stories that attract the most attention and enjoy a long cycle in the news: sex, murder, human tragedy, conflict, good guys and bad guys. Those are elements that have been part of entertainment as far back as Shakespeare.
This morning, the 400-page deposition of Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend and alleged recruiter of young girls, is being made public. The public interest in what she said about finding young girls to have sex with Epstein and older, powerful men will be extremely high. We are voyeuristic by nature.
What happened in the first Trump - Biden debate, where there was unabashed conflict, is creating interest in tonight’s final debate, as if it were a championship sporting event. We expect conflict, even with the mics muted at times; and we may have a favorite but like with a high-profile sporting event we do not know who the winner will be. Suspense is a powerful element to entertainment.
The debate is an important moment when citizens have an opportunity to learn about the candidates and which one best reflects their hopes and dreams for America. But if we are honest with ourselves - we want more than an education about each candidate - we want entertainment.
Tonight’s audience might set a record for the most people to watch a presidential debate, and the overall attraction to the event is based on the elements it will possess that parallel the elements of any good drama.
When I suggest that news is “entertainment,” I do not mean that it is all light-hearted and fun. I am simply saying that news and new-related events are produced and presented in a way that they attract and hold the attention of an audience. Isn’t that what any form of entertainment does?
Conflict is a key element is entertainment; but when conflict gets too intense, it becomes uncomfortable. President Trump made a lot of people, even Trump supporters, uncomfortable in the first debate, but let’s be honest and admit that most will be watching the debate tonight because of the potential for conflict.
