Usual Media Nonsense

But beyond that, we learn little. In essence, Egan's piece is just another of those infamous swing voter stories we've regularly whacked for singling out one demographic group and suggesting that, as Egan quotes a source in concluding his story, "They are the biggest pool of untapped potential voters, and they are easy to influence." This is a classic case of a reporter delivering four of the five W's -- who, what, where, and when -- but forgetting number five (WHY?), which is the story behind the story. Why, assuming Egan is correct, are young people more engaged this year? Why is that unusual? If they're so cynical, why would they be "easy to influence"? And why do so many get their news from places like "The Daily Show"? There's a story here somewhere inside Egan's story. We just wish he had let it out.