Why the media has broken down in the age of Trump

nypost.com ^ | Michael Goodwin

[RoosterRedux]

In the beginning, Donald Trump’s candidacy was treated as an outlandish publicity stunt, as though he wasn’t a serious candidate and should be treated as a circus act. But television executives quickly made a surprising discovery: the more they put Trump on the air, the higher their ratings climbed. Ratings are money. So news shows started devoting hours and hours simply to pointing the cameras at Trump and letting them run.

As his rallies grew, the coverage grew, which made for an odd dynamic. The candidate nobody in the media took seriously was attracting the most people to his events and getting the most news coverage. Newspapers got in on the game too. Trump, unlike most of his opponents, was always available to the press, and could be counted on to say something outrageous or controversial that made a headline. He made news by being a spectacle.

*snip*

Trump was dominating a campaign none of the smart money thought he could win. And then, suddenly, he was winning. Only when the crowded Republican field began to thin and Trump kept racking up primary and caucus victories did the media’s tone grow more serious.

One study estimated that Trump had received so much free airtime that if he had had to buy it, the price would have been $2 billion. The realization that they had helped Trump’s rise seemed to make many executives, producers, and journalists furious. By the time he secured the nomination and the general election rolled around, they were gunning for him. Only two people now had a chance to be president, and the overwhelming media consensus was that it could not be Donald Trump. They would make sure of that. The coverage of him grew so vicious and one-sided that...

[Vigilanteman]

Love it! Like most leftist lunatics who believe they are right because, well, they are just smarter than everyone else, they haven’t broken down, they are just doing what they do and expecting different results because . . . they are just smarter than everyone else!

[t4texas]

It was broken already. And the very stark contrast between Trump and the media is so great it has become unmistakable.

[newnhdad]

Deemocrats/media were having a coronation while the population was having an election. They still haven’t gotten over it.

[Grampa Dave]

The elite lying mediots, who control the NY Slimes, ABCNNBCBS, Faux, WSJ, Compost, and LaRaza Slimes fail to realize: President Trump does not need them to speak to his 62+ million voters/us.

He Tweets us, sends his contributors emails and controls the White House digital system. He bypasses the left wing mediots, when he communicates directly with us.

Again, neither President Trump, nor his 62+ million voters need nor do we want the NY Slimes, BBC, ABCNNBCBS, Faux, the LaRaza/LA Slimes, WSJ, Compost, and LaRaza Times trying to tell us what our president is telling us. We know without their twisting and word games.

We don’t need the “old gotcha” press conferences. With the whining and lying liberal mediots attacking our president. We are tired of the mediots lying and telling us what to believe and how to vote! Ban them from the White House. Trump’s comments and statements are for his voters. We don’t need lying liberal mediots to tell us what he says to us. There is zero filtering, adjusting and lying to us when Trump talks to us directly!

Official Washington is being traumatized by the tweets of Donald Trump.

Trump speaking directly to the people via Twitter or the Whitehouse.com is causing a crisis among mediots, politicians, Never Trumpsters and lobbyists. They just don't know how to handle “Trump’s Twitter feed which traumatizes Washington and his enemies.

[Covenantor]

Well done.

MSM keeps harping on the twitter feed when the meat and potatoes are served up on whitehouse.gov readily available and nicely archived for the base.

Who needs those useless whining mutts?

[Sacajaweau]

Hey....we went through 8 years of Bush bashing...this is just a continuation.

[RoosterRedux]

The big city folks, the carnies, got outsmarted by the very rubes and rednecks they were planning to fleece.

And it's killing them.

[hal ogen]

One can dream...

[exDemMom]

Among the many firsts, last year’s election gave us the gobsmacking revelation that most of the mainstream media puts both thumbs on the scale—that most of what you read, watch, and listen to is distorted by intentional bias and hostility.

It was not a revelation to those of us who have been paying attention to the media for the last few decades. It may be the case that the media's over-the-top behavior finally woke up a few people, but the media bias has been a fixture for as long as I remember.

[Liz]

MICHAEL GOODWIN EXCERPT: One study estimated that Trump's free airtime amounted to $2 billion as the ratings skyrocketed. Then the realization set in----the media's helping Trump’s rise made many executives, producers, and journalists furious. Only two people had a chance to be president, and the overwhelming media consensus was that it could not be Donald Trump. They would make sure of that. The later coverage of Trump grew vicious and one-side......the so-called cream of the media crop was engaged in a naked display of partisanship designed to bury Trump and elect Hillary Clinton.

Oops.....big media boo-boo. Their fair maiden lost. So the Russian connection is being ridden hard and fast to save face all around.

[fruser1]

Who’s claiming it was ever intact?

[GOPJ]

...young people became journalists because they wanted to be the next Woodward and Bernstein, find a Deep Throat, and bring down a president. Of course, most of them only wanted to bring down a Republican president. That’s because liberalism is baked into the journalism cake.

What a disgusting profession...

[Buttons12]

Advanced fuel destroys obsolete engine. Tsk!

[Daniel Ramsey]

MSM is like a bunch of hydrogen filled zeppelins competing with jet airliners.

[Grampa Dave]

“Who needs those useless whining mutts?”

99.999999999999999999999999999% of Trump’s voters have zero need to watch these fake news liars on tv or to read any fake news garbage they spew out as printed news.

[Bonemaker]

The media picked a fight with a redneck...in Mississippi! Bad idea.

[be-baw]

Terrific article (actually speech transcript. It’s kind of a long read, but definitely worth your time to hit the link.

[gibsonguy]

Good column worth reading.

[Hojczyk]

Media does not realize Trump spent his whole life around construction workers..

And iron workers are not snowflakes