There is a constant hunger among media, particularly TV news channels, for the criminal, the negative or the bizarre. An adage goes, "It's not news if a dog bites a man. It's news if a man bites a dog." I also think many media don't spend enough money on their sources or their journalists to send them to cover anything new or different.
The upshot is that most news is negative, made worse by ill-conceived "debates" on many channels. They are mostly shouting matches with pre-conceived views on all sides, including the anchor's. The viewer (if any) stands to gain little for his time.
Not surprisingly, many people have just given up, and only watch content from OTT channels. But they probably lose out on what awareness could have been built. Newspapers still do a halfway decent job of presenting some news and views. But they have lost readership among younger people.
Not sure how the fourth pillar of a democracy is going to lead us in the future. Hoping it does its job, unless bought out by some political party or the other.
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