The News Is Designed to Disappear—and That's the Problem

Vicious Cycles: Theses on a philosophy of news

Drawing on Daniel Boorstin and Neil Postman, this essay argues that the crisis in news isn't just technological but cultural: TV news turned politics into career drama and pseudo-events, creating engagement through distress while keeping viewers watching. The format promises importance but delivers triviality, teaching us how to feel rather than what to know. Until news can say there's nothing significant today, it builds its monument to truth on a lie.