Is quick, is good. Or is it? Perils of the 24/7 news cycle

The rise of 24 hour news channels, blogs, wikis, social media and twitter mean that today the news cycle is measured in seconds rather than days or even hours, and that it literally runs 24 hours a day seven days a week. Many benefits flow from this development, especially when compared to the impact of the slow pace of news dissemination in the nineteenth century, but this paper will focus on some of the potential negative consequences, whether they were foreseen or unintended. There is now a superabundance of information, opinion and entertainment available to the public on the broad range of political, economic, social and cultural issues that preoccupy any society. On the face of it, this suggests better informed policy-makers and a more engaged polity, but is this actually happening? To what extent are policy-makers influenced by the speed of the news cycle and the accompanying pressure, whether from journalists or opinion polls? To what extent is citizens’ engagement with issues shaped and in important ways foreshortened by the speed of the news cycle? Is the space for more considered and detailed investigation and analysis of issues being squeezed out by the so-called ‘need for speed’, or is it being submerged amid the sheer volume of material available? These issues will be discussed by examining Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Labor government from 2007 to his shock resignation in June 2010 and its aftermath.