Sean Illing

Great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Well, it basically just means that the forms of medium we use determine the content, right? So you can think about it like this. And this is the way Neil Postman, who wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death, put it. I mean, his book is a kind of indictment of TV, but he actually loved junk TV. He thought it was very entertaining.

Well, it basically just means that the forms of medium we use determine the content, right? So you can think about it like this. And this is the way Neil Postman, who wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death, put it. I mean, his book is a kind of indictment of TV, but he actually loved junk TV. He thought it was very entertaining.

The problem is that the news and politics, because it relied on TV, had to ape the mechanics and the logic of TV. It had to be entertaining. And I was listening to some interviews that he did the other day, and he used Sesame Street as an example here. What he was saying is that Look, it's not that kids don't learn how to spell when they watch Sesame Street. Surely they do. And that's great.

The problem is that the news and politics, because it relied on TV, had to ape the mechanics and the logic of TV. It had to be entertaining. And I was listening to some interviews that he did the other day, and he used Sesame Street as an example here. What he was saying is that Look, it's not that kids don't learn how to spell when they watch Sesame Street. Surely they do. And that's great.

It's that the medium of TV also communicated an important message. And the message was that education and entertainment are bound up with each other. And so

It's that the medium of TV also communicated an important message. And the message was that education and entertainment are bound up with each other. And so

that conditioned a generation to expect education to be entertaining right and so tv will do the same thing with politics shows so like john oliver's show which is great but it only works if it's entertaining and funny and it's the same thing with cable news where you you turn on morning joe and they're bebopping along and playing rolling stone songs while cutting to commercials

that conditioned a generation to expect education to be entertaining right and so tv will do the same thing with politics shows so like john oliver's show which is great but it only works if it's entertaining and funny and it's the same thing with cable news where you you turn on morning joe and they're bebopping along and playing rolling stone songs while cutting to commercials

It is always a TV show first. It has to be. The form itself, the medium itself imposes that. That's kind of what he's getting at.

It is always a TV show first. It has to be. The form itself, the medium itself imposes that. That's kind of what he's getting at.

I mean, I think that's the point that Sesame Street is trying to make, right? And so it's maybe easier to understand it by contrasting it with like the printed word, which I think Postman was probably a little bit romantic about, but... He argues that print has these pretty clear biases because of the nature of the medium. It's slower, it's more deliberative, more demanding, it's linear.

I mean, I think that's the point that Sesame Street is trying to make, right? And so it's maybe easier to understand it by contrasting it with like the printed word, which I think Postman was probably a little bit romantic about, but... He argues that print has these pretty clear biases because of the nature of the medium. It's slower, it's more deliberative, more demanding, it's linear.

It's the domain of ideas, of abstract thought, or at least it tends toward that. I think some of these distinctions that these ecologists make between different mediums may be a little too neat, but the core point is right. But TV, unlike print, is not a medium. that encourages rational thinking. It is all about action and imagery. It's about evoking emotional responses in a more passive way.

It's the domain of ideas, of abstract thought, or at least it tends toward that. I think some of these distinctions that these ecologists make between different mediums may be a little too neat, but the core point is right. But TV, unlike print, is not a medium. that encourages rational thinking. It is all about action and imagery. It's about evoking emotional responses in a more passive way.

And again, this goes back to the Sesame Street point. More importantly, TV has to be entertaining in order to capture an audience and sell ads. That's what it exists to do. So Postman just says, that the purpose of a medium can't be separated from the content it produces. So TV has to be entertaining. It's image-based, so the people on it have to look a certain way.

And again, this goes back to the Sesame Street point. More importantly, TV has to be entertaining in order to capture an audience and sell ads. That's what it exists to do. So Postman just says, that the purpose of a medium can't be separated from the content it produces. So TV has to be entertaining. It's image-based, so the people on it have to look a certain way.

They have to be attractive in politics because so much of it happens on and through TV has to reflect these biases, right? I mean, that's the ideological bias of TV. I mean, you think he's basically right there?

They have to be attractive in politics because so much of it happens on and through TV has to reflect these biases, right? I mean, that's the ideological bias of TV. I mean, you think he's basically right there?