Robert:
Early on in the relentless drive to profit from, or merely exhort, our basest natures, there were the gladiatorial blood fests; then ancient and medieval public executions; then the earliest carnival "freak shows."
All of which was soon followed by the earliest yellow journalism - the precursor to the screeching tabloids of the last few decades.
And now, with the exceptions of BBC, PBS, and the few serious newspapers left standing, the preponderance of "news," whether blogged, broadcast, or printed, whether CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Caller, The National Enquirer, or the odious Vice, is increasingly shallow and base, cynically motivated, and revels openly in freak-show video features and click bait.
It has become an all out, shameless race to the bottom. Pandering, vapid "news" is the desolate new normal.
On the other hand, there remains the enduring solace of literature.
As Maria Popova writes this week,
"...Carl Sagan saw in books 'proof that humans are capable of working magic.' The magic of humanity’s most enduring books – the great works of literature and philosophy – lies in the simple fact that they are full of hope for the human spirit. News has become the sorcerous counterpoint to this magic, mongering not proof of our goodness and brilliance but evidence of our basest capabilities..."
