LSA Communications Expert Argues that StormyDaniels Interview Is Sensationalism

In a Fortune magazine op-ed, LSA’s Susan Douglas argues that the news media is undergoing a major upheaval as entertainment increasingly colonizes “our overly commercialized, profit-driven, ratings-obsessed news channels.” She cites last month’s Stormy Daniels interview on 60 Minutes as an example of the upheaval, which has been brewing for decades and culminated in the 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent presidency of Donald Trump.   

For cable and broadcast news outlets struggling with stagnant ratings and aging audiences, Trump was “catnip,” says Douglas, the Catherine Neafie Kellogg professor and Arthur F. Thurnau professor in LSA’s Department of Communication Studies. As a result, we now have a troubling situation where crucial issues such as environmental and immigration policies are barely covered or totally uncovered, and sex and intrigue dominate the news.

Click here to read more from Susan Douglas on the rise of sensationalism in the news media.