Mark III
03-05-2016, 12:22 PM
"...The blanket television coverage this week of the latest Republican developments shone a spotlight on another important part of this story. Trump has thrived as a candidate because so much of TV’s coverage has been obsequious and servile.
There were split screens, endless pundits and a breathless sense that, if the world wasn’t quite coming to end, it was certainly exciting television. But commentators failed to note one important irony. In his speech, Romney provided a sharper critique of Trump’s professional record than cable TV viewers have ever seen.
Every media analysis highlights the fact that live TV news coverage of Trump far exceeds that of his competitors, in some cases it is greater than all of his opponents combined.
A recent example was the Republican debate last month broadcast by CNN. After the debate ended, rather than going to their commentators, CNN immediately cut to a 15-minute post-debate interview with Trump.
Trumps brags that he doesn’t need paid advertising, and he is right. That has been his strategy: create a story-of-the-day, often involving insults or bullying, and then assume that the news media will fall into line.
It has worked. In recent weeks, U.S. news and current affairs programs have been pre-empted, or shortened, to accommodate long, rambling, repetitive speeches by Trump. American voters have had to rely on quality newspapers, such as the New York Times, for insight about Trump’s policies and his past.
It is not in the financial interests of commercial television to take on Trump. Last month, Les Moonves, the chairman of CBS, said that if Trump is not making America great again, as his slogan puts it, “it’s damn good for CBS.” (https://theintercept.com/2016/02/29/cbs-donald-trump/) The TV networks are making millions from advertising related to the Trump phenomenon."
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/03/05/donald-trump-reality-show-wont-end-so-long-as-it-pays-burman.html
There were split screens, endless pundits and a breathless sense that, if the world wasn’t quite coming to end, it was certainly exciting television. But commentators failed to note one important irony. In his speech, Romney provided a sharper critique of Trump’s professional record than cable TV viewers have ever seen.
Every media analysis highlights the fact that live TV news coverage of Trump far exceeds that of his competitors, in some cases it is greater than all of his opponents combined.
A recent example was the Republican debate last month broadcast by CNN. After the debate ended, rather than going to their commentators, CNN immediately cut to a 15-minute post-debate interview with Trump.
Trumps brags that he doesn’t need paid advertising, and he is right. That has been his strategy: create a story-of-the-day, often involving insults or bullying, and then assume that the news media will fall into line.
It has worked. In recent weeks, U.S. news and current affairs programs have been pre-empted, or shortened, to accommodate long, rambling, repetitive speeches by Trump. American voters have had to rely on quality newspapers, such as the New York Times, for insight about Trump’s policies and his past.
It is not in the financial interests of commercial television to take on Trump. Last month, Les Moonves, the chairman of CBS, said that if Trump is not making America great again, as his slogan puts it, “it’s damn good for CBS.” (https://theintercept.com/2016/02/29/cbs-donald-trump/) The TV networks are making millions from advertising related to the Trump phenomenon."
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/03/05/donald-trump-reality-show-wont-end-so-long-as-it-pays-burman.html