In thinking about media criticism, I want to link to these tweets by Matt Yglesias:
They bring up the central issue with the Clinton email issue -- there has been no consistent follow-up with succeeding administrations. It is one thing to say national security is very important (and it is). But if you set the standard that a minor breach of security protocols requires congressional hearings, you are stuck in the face of a major one with either:
- Admission that the previous claims were specious
- Rigorously pursuing the new (more serious) claims
Otherwise we end up with an odd sort of double standard that undermines any sort of ability to actually plan for political outcomes. Very much like the "deficits matter only as long as the other party holds the presidency". These odd double standards undermine coherent debate about national priorities and what voters want. Insofar as the press has a privileged position as the 4th estate, it is to guide us in debate and not to cultivate random scandals just to drive interest. In this sense, social media models may be failing us even worse than I had previously worried.
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