TV exploited the new American electorate, whose collective civic IQ had been dulled by mass entertainment. Social psychologists call this effect the elaboration likelihood model, where knowledgeable listeners are more attuned to the content of a speaker’s words and confused listeners look to proxies of expertise, such as poise or confidence. Media kingpin and Fox News President Roger Ailes is a master at exploiting this public vulnerability. While coaching Rudy Giuliani during his run for office, he scolded him for offering a nuanced, multi-pointed argument. “I agree with all of those things,” wrote Giuliani, recalling Ailes’s advice, “You get an A for education–and an F for communication.” Ailes ranted on: This isn’t the United States Court of Appeals. Judges would remember those four points, and they’d write them all down. But, people at home aren’t sitting there with a score-card. Education–immediately, what does that say to you? Children. You have two minutes. The way you answer that question is, “I care greatly about children. I have my own.

How Technology Destroyed The Once Substantive Presidential Debate | TechCrunch Monday, March 3, 2014 @ 10:39pm