Showmanship, or civic engagement?

So CNN is considering rules which would once again keep Carly Fiorina off the main stage at the next debate. Ace of Spades is appalled, and writes,

CNN should repudiate the FoxNews model -- which was done for showmanship, not civic engagement -- and have two panels, each panel decided by random draw, with the top eight candidates (in the polls) randomly divided into each panel, four each (to make sure each panel has heavy hitters), all others randomly drawn to fill out each panel.

Why not? The cable news networks thrive on free highly-watched content; why have 24 million viewers for 90 minutes, when you can have 24 million (or almost that) for 180 minutes?

There is no reason, except for the media's insistence that it will arrogantly serve as some sort of "gatekeeper" for the American public, before a single American voter has had any opportunity to cast a vote or even, indeed, before most Americans have even begun to think about which way they're voting.

If CNN is truly the "hard news network" and better than Fox, they can prove it now by choosing a substantive, civic-minded debate format, and not one that simply maximizes interest in a "big show."

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