Also true of non-tech-adjacent reporters!

The impulse may be stronger in some and weaker in others, and the incentive structure at their outlet may be stronger or weaker, but all of them know, even subconsciously, what type of stories are likelier to capture attention, make $ for the outlet and hopefully return a portion of that to them. Outrage is high the list of qualities that guarantee attention.

Since learning about social media algorithms, I've come to think of all news media, even old timey newspapers, in the same light. IMO The only difference between TikTok's For You page and newspaper headlines from 200 years ago was the precision of the engagement feedback and the latency.