The national news media wants Trump to win in 2020.
No industry has benefited more from the Trump era. Local journalism remains in despair, with local newspapers ending print editions and reporters being laid off left and right. National publications, though, have seen its bottom-line soar in the right direction thanks to the all-consuming nature of the Trump era.
We see it on display every time Trump attacks the “failing” New York Times or “fake news” CNN, and the publications respond with facts about how their subscriptions or viewers have gone up. It’s all about money.
When I worked for the Newspaper Association of America (now the News Media Alliance), my job as spokesperson was painful. I had to constantly spin numbers into a positive for the industry, even though everyone could see it was an industry in decline. There did not appear to be any bottom for how far the industry could sink.
Then Trump happened and suddenly people cared about the news again. As a wise man once said, “controversy creates cash” and that’s exactly what happened. Suddenly, Trump was anywhere and everywhere because he made the media money. Viewership went up. Subscriptions went up. Page views went up.
If you can recall the 2016 election, it was all about Trump. The notion that Hillary Clinton didn’t provide any policy proposals still lingers because everyone covered the campaign in the guise of Trump. Even on Election night, before results came in, Chuck Todd said the most important speech of the night would be what Trump said, in a likely loss.
Yes, we may have been on the verge of the first woman President in United States history, but Chuck Todd was only concerned with Trump.
Sadly, this viewpoint has not changed. More importantly, the national news media members love the attention they get from covering Trump.
The Anecdote That Scared Me
In May, I attended an event at the Washington Post where the featured speaker was Ashley Parker, who covered the Trump campaign for the New York Times and now covered the White House for the Post. It was described as a “behind the scenes” look at covering Trump. I was intrigued. Then Ashley started talking.
“I’ve never had so many people be so interested in what I do for a living,” she said, with the type of glee that sent a shiver down the spine. The rest of her presentation was exactly what I feared it would be, Ashley talking excitedly about the chaos that was the Trump campaign.
There was not a single moment during her presentation where she mentioned policy, or its impact on the world. It was all about the show, the entertainment, and the excitement.
In Ashley’s world, the kids dying in concentration camps don’t matter. Neither do the families being separated. Or the minorities being targeted. She didn’t once – not even once! – mention the blatant racism she had seen with her own eyes over the past 4 years. Instead, the focus was on how “fun” it was to cover Trump.
If there was ever an example of today’s national news media being completely divorced from the reality of the situation, this was it. I was horrified, and I wasn’t the only one in the audience that felt that way. The event included guests from around the world, namely from Europe. Those Europeans left the room nearly shell-shocked. One even remarked to me, “I can’t believe she’s so happy to cover that man every day.”
Neither could I. But it was at that moment that I knew Trump was the media’s choice to win re-election in 2020 because they loved the show.
Robert Mueller Isn’t Exciting Enough
We reached another dark moment for journalism just this week, as Robert Mueller’s shocking testimony about Trump was essentially trashed by the national news media.
During his testimony, Mueller confirmed that Trump was a criminal who could be indicted after leaving his office, that his team “falsified” records during his investigation, and, most frightening, shared that the FBI was still investigating whether the President was being blackmailed.
I was busy with work on Wednesday, so I was catching these news bits online and assumed that impeachment would be starting immediately. My God, I thought, the media is going to have a field day with this new information.
Instead, by the time I got home on Wednesday night, the coverage talked about how “flat” that Mueller appeared during the testimony. Huh? Since when did performance matter when talking about crimes committed by a President?
It was a sign that Trump has successfully killed the national news media. The substance no longer matters, only the style.
I don’t have a good way to end this piece because there’s nothing good here. Ashley’s anecdote revealed how badly the national news media has lost the plot. They love that Trump has made them relevant – which reporter hasn’t gotten a book deal? – and don’t want to go back to the nameless reporters that once formed the backbone of a free press.
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No industry has benefited more from the Trump era. Local journalism remains in despair, with local newspapers ending print editions and reporters being laid off left and right. National publications, though, have seen its bottom-line soar in the right direction thanks to the all-consuming nature of the Trump era.
When I worked for the Newspaper Association of America (now the News Media Alliance), my job as spokesperson was painful. I had to constantly spin numbers into a positive for the industry, even though everyone could see it was an industry in decline. There did not appear to be any bottom for how far the industry could sink.
Then Trump happened and suddenly people cared about the news again. As a wise man once said, “controversy creates cash” and that’s exactly what happened. Suddenly, Trump was anywhere and everywhere because he made the media money. Viewership went up. Subscriptions went up. Page views went up.
If you can recall the 2016 election, it was all about Trump. The notion that Hillary Clinton didn’t provide any policy proposals still lingers because everyone covered the campaign in the guise of Trump. Even on Election night, before results came in, Chuck Todd said the most important speech of the night would be what Trump said, in a likely loss.
Yes, we may have been on the verge of the first woman President in United States history, but Chuck Todd was only concerned with Trump.
Sadly, this viewpoint has not changed. More importantly, the national news media members love the attention they get from covering Trump.
The Anecdote That Scared Me
In May, I attended an event at the Washington Post where the featured speaker was Ashley Parker, who covered the Trump campaign for the New York Times and now covered the White House for the Post. It was described as a “behind the scenes” look at covering Trump. I was intrigued. Then Ashley started talking.
“I’ve never had so many people be so interested in what I do for a living,” she said, with the type of glee that sent a shiver down the spine. The rest of her presentation was exactly what I feared it would be, Ashley talking excitedly about the chaos that was the Trump campaign.
There was not a single moment during her presentation where she mentioned policy, or its impact on the world. It was all about the show, the entertainment, and the excitement.
In Ashley’s world, the kids dying in concentration camps don’t matter. Neither do the families being separated. Or the minorities being targeted. She didn’t once – not even once! – mention the blatant racism she had seen with her own eyes over the past 4 years. Instead, the focus was on how “fun” it was to cover Trump.
If there was ever an example of today’s national news media being completely divorced from the reality of the situation, this was it. I was horrified, and I wasn’t the only one in the audience that felt that way. The event included guests from around the world, namely from Europe. Those Europeans left the room nearly shell-shocked. One even remarked to me, “I can’t believe she’s so happy to cover that man every day.”
Neither could I. But it was at that moment that I knew Trump was the media’s choice to win re-election in 2020 because they loved the show.
Robert Mueller Isn’t Exciting Enough
We reached another dark moment for journalism just this week, as Robert Mueller’s shocking testimony about Trump was essentially trashed by the national news media.
During his testimony, Mueller confirmed that Trump was a criminal who could be indicted after leaving his office, that his team “falsified” records during his investigation, and, most frightening, shared that the FBI was still investigating whether the President was being blackmailed.
I was busy with work on Wednesday, so I was catching these news bits online and assumed that impeachment would be starting immediately. My God, I thought, the media is going to have a field day with this new information.
Instead, by the time I got home on Wednesday night, the coverage talked about how “flat” that Mueller appeared during the testimony. Huh? Since when did performance matter when talking about crimes committed by a President?
It was a sign that Trump has successfully killed the national news media. The substance no longer matters, only the style.
I don’t have a good way to end this piece because there’s nothing good here. Ashley’s anecdote revealed how badly the national news media has lost the plot. They love that Trump has made them relevant – which reporter hasn’t gotten a book deal? – and don’t want to go back to the nameless reporters that once formed the backbone of a free press.
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