Finally I come across a section in the reading that doesn’t explain how America is being brainwashed and lied to by the government and other large bodies of media in the public sphere. Rather, Manjoo explores a great example of the dynamic in the public sphere, where news outlets must change their focus in order to satisfy audiences in a culture of niches. As an example of this, he presented news anchor Lou Dobbs. Dobbs primetime news reports exemplify the change that occurred following the attacks on September 11th. He was able to veer the point of focus of his show from the cold rationality of markets, to the topic of the United States’ loss for national sovereignty. Considering the status of the economy before and after 9/11, both topics captured the majority of businessmen at each time. That’s why he became one of the CNN’s highest-rated anchors, and attracted viewers up to eight hundred thousand a night.
“But Lou Dobbs is not a raving idiot. He just plays one on TV. Given the circumstances, he’d be a fool not to”, Manjoo wrote about Dobb’s performances (148). I think the message here is that Dobb’s is less of a famous figure, than he is a character of the system that’s objective is to attract viewers.
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