Stephan:   One of the things I find most notable about this campaign era is the mediocrity of the press. Rachel Maddow who has a doctorate, and was a Rhodes Scholar, seems to be the only person who both understands data and knows how to see the patterns it creates. Fox News, in contrast, lives in an almost fact free world. I keep lists of lies and errors every time I view them. It's amazing. Even Maddow's show has it agendas. As a rule though the coverage of the significant issues is appalling. This is the era of the sensoid. A sensoid is a unit of attention-grabbing information, whether pictures, sounds, or words. It is different than a datum, a unit of information designed to educate and enlighten. Data drive science. Sensoids drive media. A sensoid is designed to produce an emotional reaction in the person who sees it or reads it, and it is the reaction that gives it its value. See http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307%2806%2900350-8/fulltext.