Automatic Gain Control -- What I expect regarding Trump vs Biden in the media

Automatic Gain Control (AGC) is a pretty old concept in electronics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_gain_control

The basic idea is that you boost a weak signal, or attenuate a strong signal, to produce a relatively constant output level. This is why an AM radio station doesn't blare loudly when you drive by a radio station's antenna, or fade to a whisper many miles away. It's also why you can use your cell phone's speaker phone, or talk on a Zoom call, without big changes in how loud you sound to other people just because (within limits) your head moves closer or further from the mic.

As far as media coverage has been concerned, Trump has been putting out an enormously powerful signal. It has been beyond the limit of the media's AGC to fully attenuate, so Trump's signal has pushed passed normal limits by crowding out many other stories we might have been hearing. But the media still has an output limit, it can only get so "loud", and that's where the fatigue factor kicks in, the ridiculous normalization of Trump and his acolytes, and the media's inability to stick with stories that should be big stories before moving on to the latest bombshell.

Soon, however, we'll have Biden in office. The Trump drama won't abruptly stop on January 20th, of course. Trump will be making media noise for some time to come. Eventually, however, more and more focus will be on Biden.

But Biden won't generate scandal after scandal, outrage upon outrage. He'll do normal presidential things, many of those things quietly and behind the scenes, for the good of the country. That's great news for the country, but a "weak signal" for the news media.

I expect an automatic signal boost.

A 30 year-old DUI charge discovered for an obscure member of the Biden administration will receive all the attention (or more) of a 3 year-old domestic violence charge in Trump's inner circle. One badly handled immigration case will be scrutinized at the same level as hundreds of children in cages. One bit of slightly insensitive wording on Biden's part (almost certainly followed by a swift apology) will be held up as the equal of Trump's "very fine people".

Our "main stream" media isn't the crazy "fake news" cabal the right wing claims it to be. The basic info provided (especially after a little time passes) comes close to factual truth. The media's problems are sensationalism, over-simplification, both-siderism, the stories that aren't covered that deserve more attention -- and also what I'm calling the "automatic gain control".

Bask in the relief for a bit, but be prepared for a lot of hard work to prevent the next Trump

Size of Biden's Electoral Vote tally, after all the dust has settled

I'm not gonna even bother with a choice below 270!