feeding frenzy

Definition

When media coverage of a political scandal reaches critical mass, with journalists competing to uncover new angles in a self-perpetuating cycle of coverage. Sharks circling, but with microphones and cameras.

Example Usage

The minor ethics violation turned into a feeding frenzy, with every news outlet racing to break the next detail.

Origin

From marine biology describing shark behavior, applied to media coverage by scholar Larry Sabato in his 1991 book

Fun Fact

Political scientist Larry Sabato found that feeding frenzies follow predictable patterns, typically lasting 5-7 days before media exhaustion sets in.

Source: Political media analysis

Related Terms

Intermediate

party discipline

The degree to which party members vote according to party leadership's wishes rather than their own judgment or constituents' interests. Strong in parliamentary systems, theoretical in American politics.

🏛️ Government / Politics

Advanced

committee of the whole

A parliamentary procedure where the entire chamber temporarily reorganizes as a committee to debate with relaxed rules, allowing unlimited amendments and faster proceedings. It's Congress pretending to be less formal while following elaborate rules about being informal.

🏛️ Government / Politics

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Filibuster

The political equivalent of a toddler holding their breath until they get what they want, except it involves reading phone books on the Senate floor for twelve hours. Democracy at its finest, if your definition of democracy includes weaponized boredom.

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amendment

A proposed change to a bill, law, or motion that legislators use to add, delete, or modify text — basically the legislative version of tracked changes in a Google Doc. In constitutional contexts, it's how democracies update their operating systems without a complete reboot. Can range from fixing typos to fundamentally altering legislation.

🏛️ Government / Politics

Beginner

off the record

Information given to journalists with the agreement it won't be published or attributed, theoretically. In practice, it's a trust exercise where everyone knows the rules until someone really wants to break them.

🏛️ Government / Politics

Intermediate

pay-go

A budgetary rule requiring that new spending or tax cuts be offset by corresponding spending cuts or revenue increases, essentially Congress's version of 'if you break it, you bought it.' The principle that legislators should actually pay for things they want, which is honored about as often as gym memberships get used.

🏛️ Government / Politics

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