Why the White House Chooses a Fox over a Wolf (Blitzer)

If you step into any cafeteria in any high school across the country you will feel de ja vu of your own high school days. There was the jock table, drama table, minority table, and student government table. The sci-fi table, band table, rocker table, and popular table. In every cafeteria across the country you will find tables of kids sitting with other kids that are just like them. It is human nature that people cling to those who think like them, look like them, and believe like them.

In "The Daily We" Sunstein states that the ability to personalize the internet limits discourse. When news is fragmented many citizens will not choose to hear others points of view. I believe that the internet has vastly expanded the Marketplace of Ideas, but human nature has stopped many from seeking out alternative ideas. This problem extends into the highest levels of government.

If you go to any House, Senate, or White House office during business hours you will be likely to see many scattered televisions tuned into a 24-hour news channel. While working in the Republican controlled White House the TVs were always tuned to Fox News, probably not a big surprise too many! Should the White House be choosing to watch Fox News over CNN or MSNBC? Probably not.

In an era where the Marketplace is growing by the minute, the White House should choose to hear as many ideas as possible and not the Conservative News Network throughout the West Wing. When the ability to personalize the media is limiting discourse, I believe that human nature should not restrict the information traveling into the Oval Office. It is time to change the channel!