Media Habits as Tribalism
Thomas Friedman's current column disturbs me, especially this paragraph:
This was not an election. This was station identification. I'd bet anything that if the election ballots hadn't had the names Bush and Kerry on them but simply asked instead, "Do you watch Fox TV or read The New York Times?" the Electoral College would have broken the exact same way.
What about people who watch Fox and read the NY Times? Where are we in Friedman's two americas? The progression from mainstream media to the second era of the partisan penny press is rapidly gaining steam when such a column can be written by a major player at the NYT like Friedman. It's astonishing to think that he's fallen into the trap of media outlet consumption as tribal identification badge. It would be a far poorer america if we all followed suit.
Posted by TMLutas at November 4, 2004 05:01 PM