I am not the target audience for the television show "The View." The format, style, and what the show represents in terms of "soft news" and the long decline in the quality of America's public discourse does not appeal to me. However, many millions of other people feel differently. The show is beloved by its viewers who find the personalities and their banter comforting and informative. Alternatively, many of the show's viewers likely watch it because they love to get angry and upset at the hosts. In that role, "The View" is channeling large swaths of the public's thoughts, intuitions and moods – however vague and ill-formed those thoughts and feelings may be.
During a recent episode, the hosts debated how much attention the news media — and by extension the public as a whole — should pay to "extreme"," partisan" and "divisive" politicians and other public figures such as Marjorie Taylor Greene. Should they be ignored? Do they actually merit the large amount of news media attention they receive?
