[alephnerd]

Hypothetically that is what is supposed to happen, but in action, politics has become so polarized, that swing electorates are almost non-existent.

At this point elections are won based on whether or not subsegments of the population can be rallied to show up or not show up to vote in elections.

This is becuase in most elections, most voters simply do not follow the news, and if they do it tends to be a quick video or a listicle.

Thus, the voters that can swing an election are those that are part of organized voting blocs (eg. A specific union or a local PTA), and cultivating those local groups and ties matters more.

[cudgy]

Mainstream news is boring, repetitive, uninformative, and mainly representative of the extremes of politics. This type of programming is not attractive to most people, only shallow political junkies consume it voraciously. Most people care about healthcare, housing, education, and community. The value proposition for most people to watch the news is not very attractive.