Why can’t the Wikileaks emails dominate the news cycle?

Why can’t the Wikileaks emails dominate the news cycle? 

The email dumping continues as Wikileaks has recently completed “The Podesta Emails: Pt. 20”. New outrages and suspicions have been arising with each new leak, yet these stories will often disappear from the news cycle within a few days. The latest stories include… Bill Clinton’s paid speeches, police brutality victims like Eric Garner, and Clinton aides’ reaction to her private server. But don’t worry about catching up, by tomorrow there will be 3-5 more shocking stories to cover up those updates anyway. As the campaign comes to a close, the Wikileaks information overload is starting to feel like old news before it’s even leaked.

Why do these perfectly shocking and scandalous stories seem so tired out? I have three possible reasons for you.

1. Because that’s what we expect from Hillary Clinton by now.

The shock and awe of Clinton’s email controversy is long gone. It’s not news that HRC has been involved in some shady political dealings. Personally, I have not seen a story from the Podesta Emails series that has truly shocked me because everyone expects Wikileaks to find dirt on the campaign.

2. Because to stay interested, we need soundbites, not pages and pages of emails.

It’s difficult to turn a long thread of emails into an attention-grabbing soundbite—and that’s what the public needs to stay interested in a story. Political media thrives on short, catchy, memorable phrases, like “basket of deplorables” and “nasty woman.” It’s not to say that the released emails aren’t incriminating, or at the very least intriguing, but the truth is, very few voters will take the time to research and educate themselves on the topic, especially if it’s not being blasted from every media source imaginable. The problem with the information overload can be summed up like this: We will never see a trending hashtag on Twitter that reads “#HillaryIsShady2016BecauseEvenHerAidesWereSuspiciousOfHerPrivateServerIfYouGoBackAndLookAtTheEmailsFromMarchOf2015.”

3. Because the alternative is so much juicier.

Along with the first two reasons, HRC has the best political distraction in modern history to cover up the news cycle with faux paus: Donald J. Trump. This is perhaps one of the best things to happen to the Clinton campaign in the midst of this email controversy. Even if a few stories from the Wikileaks dumps get traction in the media for a little while, something related to Trump is sure to overshadow them. Whether it’s new sexual harassment claims or his refusal to accept the validity of the democratic process, something over in the Donald camp is sure to cover up everything else in the media.

Overall, in the next two weeks, I will be interested to see if a Wikileaks story can truly saturate the news cycle. If that were to occur, the Clinton campaign should just keep their heads down, continue to pivot, and wait until the next Donald slip-up comes along to dominate the media once again.