[neilk]

I think we overestimate what the media can really do. The public always wants them to lead the charge, but traditionally, they've rarely done so. They've always trailed behind activists, politicians, and social movements.

And to some extent it makes sense; things really become "stories" when there's a nonzero possibility things might change. And that doesn't happen unless there are champions, pointing the way to some other possible future. In the USA, both parties favor hushing up financial scandal, so it's really hard to break through.

There's this great fantasy show on HBO right now, The Newsroom, where one news show decides to lead the public rather than following them.