What role does the public’s desire for entertainment play in the media’s decisions to focus its stories on sensational and entertaining topics?

What will be an ideal response?

Many journalists often say “if it bleeds, it leads.” This is an example of the media’s intense desire to find material that will attract the largest audience possible. In addition, the blending of hard news topics with entertainment and comedy in such shows as The Daily Show with Trevor Noah has been used to exemplify the phenomenon of “infotainment.” Today, more young people say they get their news and information through infotainment shows than through traditional broadcast news sources. The result is that broadcasters often shape their stories through framing or agenda setting so as to placate the public’s desire to be entertained. In addition, “soft news” stories often take precedence over hard, factual news reporting. The commercial bias that drives broadcast and print media today has led to an overall decline in confidence in television news and an increase in narrow partisan bias within specific news stations. For instance, one can get a right-oriented political spin by watching Fox News or a left-oriented political spin by watching MSNBC. Each of these media outlets will present the same material but in a different frame of reference, which can often lead to what Larry Sabato has described as a “feeding frenzy.”