Political Apathy Analysis

Having established the reasoning behind this continuing shift towards satirical, simplified, and often trivialised political coverage, and analysing its benefits and detriments, it is crucial to now examine the tangible impacts this has on the behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes of the voting public. In an analysis of the media’s contribution to political apathy, Washbourne (2010, p.11) identifies three key indicators: disproportionate coverage of “cynical or self-interested” topics, rather than detailing policies and ideals, assumptions that the public are generally disinterested in politics, and failure to provide a model through which citizens can actively relate to, and engage with, politics. However, while acknowledging the media can contribute …show more content…
However, blaming the media exclusively is overly reductive and narrow-minded, and absolves other key stakeholders of any wrongdoing, while failing to grasp the breadth of the issue. While trivialised political coverage, particularly on television, palpably influences political alienation and cynicism, diverse and consistent media consumption continues to promote political engagement. Moreover, this simplistic coverage is borne out of natural escalations of enduring, interrelated issues, rather than media cynicism or malevolence. In fact, while the media’s justification for such coverage - to make it more accessible and understandable to a wider audience - is commendable, and seemingly promotes inclusive, democratic values, their ability to fulfil this without distorting, misrepresenting, or over-simplifying stories is questionable, thus stifling, rather than promoting, informed public discourse. Despite this, trivialised political coverage can have genuine benefits when regarded as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, hard news coverage, and with a particularly skilled satirist at the helm. Thus, the ubiquity, rather than the existence, of this style of coverage should be a central concern. While trivialised political coverage may not be directly responsible for political alienation, it can certainly trigger it, to the extent that, damningly, many have opted to circumvent traditional news sources entirely. Clearly, the media are not blameless, and must realise that offering a diversity of content, including substantial in-depth analyses, is central to political engagement and comprehension, whereas an oversaturation of trivialised coverage is patronising, and disrupts, rather than enhances, wider discourse, ultimately benefitting no one. Nor are politicians blameless, as many actively embrace, and benefit from, this