Donald Trump has been successful at one thing, controlling the mainstream media. While the majority of the coverage of Trump is negative, the coverage is consistent and never-ending. Donald craves constant attention and the media are more than willing to provide him with it. If they are not covering him, they are covering someone affiliated with him, like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s press secretary.
They cover his friends, family, enemies, acquaintances, distant relations, former schoolmates, former wives, and any person that is willing to talk about Donald.
The election coverage was unbalanced
Donald Trump did not just rise to power on his own, he had ample help from the mainstream media. The 2016 election season was a prime example of the media’s complicity in the rise of Trump. Donald was running against 16 other Republican candidates. However, according to multiple outlets, he received more coverage than all the other candidates combined. It has been estimated that he received close to $3 billion in free advertising throughout the election season.
He ended up spending a fraction of what many Republican candidates spent and managed to win the Republican nomination with the help of the mainstream media.
During the general election, between Trump and Hillary, he received 3 times the amount of coverage Hillary received. They would cover his speeches live while only covering a small portion of her speeches. In addition to providing Trump with much greater coverage, they covered both candidates negatively at an equal amount. Therefore, Hillary had less of an opportunity, than Trump, to combat the negative press.
The media benefits from Trump
The CEO of CBS, Les Moonves, was once quoted as saying that Trump’s run may not be “good for the country, but he’s damn good for CBS”.
That sentiment is pervasive in the media. Every news network relentlessly covers everything Donald says or does because they believe he’s good for business. Newspapers that were virtually evaporating began to see record profits from advertising. Many networks viewership went up a lot since Trump began running for President. Their bottom-line took precedence over preserving the foundation of the United States.
While the media feign outrage over his behavior, it’s hard to imagine how they would operate if they didn’t cover him constantly. Most people who do not like someone would not give that person a platform. Also, despite Trump repeatedly attempting to discredit them, they will even cover him while he is verbally abusing them to their faces.
The media is not outraged about Trump. Contrarily, they need him and take advantage of his constant controversies.
If the media were truly appalled by him then they would reorganize their programs to cover him less. They wouldn't cover the trivial and inconsequential things he does. They would ignore him and not give him the attention he craves. That likely will not happen considering they are all profiting from his theatrics. Because of that, it’s important to be skeptical of the media as they are complicit in the rise and damage of Donald Trump.