Media Feeding Frenzy

The notion of a media feeding frenzy is a metaphor describing a type of media hype, or sometimes any form of media hype. It is a value-laden term, almost always used to criticize media interest in a particular matter at a particular time as exaggerated or detrimental or illegitimate. The notion has won currency in the United States in political communication after Larry J. Sabato's book Feeding Frenzy appeared in 1991, and subsequent media attention and behavior toward such stories as Governor Bill Clinton's marital infidelity (the Gennifer Flowers affair) and draft evasion in his 1992 presidential campaign seemed to affirm the necessity for such a term.

Sabato defines a media feeding frenzy as “the press coverage attending any political event or circumstance where a critical ...