'Americans are fed up with the news media'

"Fewer Americans than ever are paying regular attention to news and current affairs"

(Image credit: Daniel Grizelj / Getty Images)

published 31 October 2023

'People are just worn out by news and politics'

John Halpin at Substack

The Pew Research Center finds that "fewer Americans than ever are paying regular attention to news and current affairs," says John Halpin in The Liberat Patriot at Substack. People are sick of endless coverage of "bad news, violence, corruption, and political divisions," and "don't really know who or what to trust." Unfortunately, tuning out "the latest implosion in the House of Representatives" and "fights between dumb politicians" doesn't ease "public tensions." In fact, they're getting worse.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Since Hamas' "barbaric" surprise attack triggered a war with Israel, American Jews have been subjected to "rampant" antisemitism, says the National Review editorial board. "This is horrifying, and it is unacceptable. It is also un-American." Jews have faced discrimination in America before, but this shameful explosion of hate is on a "different scale." Those in authority must stamp it out, because history shows that unchecked antisemitism "won't stop at broken noses and chat-room threats."

The time to move clocks back an hour is fast approaching, says Sheldon H. Jacobson in the Chicago Tribune. But we really should be ending daylight saving time forever. Benjamin Franklin first proposed it "to save on candles." Sleep researchers say standard time is better for our circadian rhythm, which "affects alertness" and health. And the digital revolution has "transformed the concept of time." We subject ourselves to these biannual shocks by "habit rather than reason."

America could be headed into an era of two demagogic political parties, says Chris Deaton in The Bulwark. Donald Trump has taken over today's Republican party, and "Trumpism will outlast Trump." Democrats seem to be in a "period of normalcy," as seen in President Biden's relatively "stable" leadership. But "George W. Bush was a normal (if flawed) president, too." There is no guarantee the left won't surrender to its extreme flank just like the right did.

Explore More

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.