Niche Programming

The growth of cable television (it owns the prime time television viewing audience) is not only going to create niche audiences interested in their own brand of entertainment, but niche audiences only interested in their own political perspective. I see this as a great threat to a political system based on an educated voter who understands all sides of an issue, and then arrives at a decision.
Increasingly, as CNN and FOX are proving, audiences are attending only to those media channels which support their political perspective. This is resulting in programming that increasingly simplifies the issues in an effort to appeal to the viewer's lowest common denominator. I believe this is partly responsible for a kind of "demonizing" that some do to those who disagree with their political perspective. Simplifying issues with messages based primarily on emotional appeals, target those who want easy answers to complex questions. It seems the television audience thinks that 60 Minutes isn't anywhere near as exciting as Bill O'Reilly.
Yes, I believe niche programming is just following through on the advertising and public relations concept of targeting the audience. The problem is that we never have thought that mass media was a vehicle for advocating a particular entertainment, social, or political perspective. Not unless somebody was paying for that time with an identified sponsor.
I worry that we're going to see an increasingly opinioned audience, yet their opinions will be based on simplistic and one-sided views. It's pretty frustrating to discuss something with someone who has a strong opinion, yet they can't articulate it logically, but still maintains a passionate fervor about that position.
-Jen Mullen