Matthew Birchall: Leaders debates should be more than just entertainment

In Amusing Ourselves to Death, the American cultural critic and media commentator Neil Postman argued that television had debased public discourse.

His central thesis rested on the idea that television, with its emphasis on soundbites and sensationalism, reduced even the weightiest of matters to mere trivialities. According to Postman, this shallow approach to communication stripped public debate of the depth and nuance it desperately needed.

Matthew Birchall: Beyond the election debate soundbites

What is the purpose of televised leaders’ debates?

Ideally, these staples of the political calendar should inform, educate and entertain. If done well, they provide voters with a deeper insight into the candidates vying for the 9th Floor and the direction they intend to take the country. That, surely, can only be a good thing.

But do our leaders’ debates still fulfil their traditional purpose, or are they quickly becoming a relic of a by-gone era?