Americans: Lovers of Outrage

Outrage gets the American people talking and thus is a goldmine for advertisers. The Outrage Industry makes money for name-calling. In December 2013, Martin Bashir made news for calling Sarah Palin a “world class idiot” and saying that someone should dedicate in her mouth. Wow. Gross. Comments such as these are now common place and people love to hear them whether they admit it or not.

When something outrageous or offensive is said on any media platform, the American people claim to dislike it, but in reality they find it compelling. They cannot get enough of it as they find it intriguing and persuasive. Outrage is defined as something “designed to evoke emotional response in the audience through the use of overgeneralization, sensationalism, inaccurate information and ad hominem attacks” (Berry and Sobieraj). The Outrage Industry is not very effective in setting the agenda, but rather in changing the terms of a preexisting agenda by affecting perceptions and adding new dimensions to issues (Berry and Sobieraj). The most effective outrage is delivered by a charismatic figure whom the audience deems as trustworthy and persuasive, such as Sean Hannity (Berry Sobieraj). Outrage is everywhere. While mostly on television, it is also in radio shows and blog posts. 100% of the cable programs analyzed for “The Outrage Industry” contained outrage (Berry and Sobieraj).

Something that makes outrage so enticing to people is the honestly that it delivers. Outrage is straightforward and to the point, and the deliverers of outrage are giving their honest opinions for all to hear. Regardless of what people may say in polls about their dislike of this degrading talk, Americans love it and keep coming back for more.