Television has old guys like me believing that if we’re not watching, we’re missing something.
We grew up with this endless parade of stuff. The death of Lee Harvey Oswald, the moon landing, the Challenger explosion, Kennedy in Berlin, Reagan in Berlin, The Trump/ Clinton Debate, The Trump Assassination Attempt.
Get it?
Remember The Kinks song Celluloid Heroes.
Eyeballs on the screen is how the TV people make money.
I just watched a YouTube program about Lee Marvin . If he had a message, that message was being authentic. Be authentic to your self.
Believe in something. Live that belief
It’s deuce difficult.
Dispatches From Dystopia 
David you are so right. The tactic has been adapted by social media, if there is no news, make some. That and click throughs that are a tedious waste of time after promising a panacea for any problems one might have.