For someone who claims the media is “rigging” the election against him, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has sure made the most of it. By March, Trump had received the equivalent of $40 million in free advertising due to the relentless media coverage of his campaign. By now, he has most likely received the equivalent of billions of dollars.
However, Trump is not the only one making the most out of his wall-to-wall media coverage. In a report released Monday, CNN is financially far above their projections for the year, mainly due to a “Trump fascination.”
Sources report that CNN is about $100 million ahead of their projections for the fiscal year. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik tweeted about the financial windfall:
News: I'm told by two sources that CNN earned approx $100M above expected election year lift in TV & digital thanks to Trump fascination
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) October 24, 2016
That fascination with Trump was apparently one shared by viewers as well as the network.
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) October 24, 2016
There is no doubt that Trump has dominated the media cycle since he launched his presidential campaign. He has been a boon for countless media outlets, as people cannot seem to get enough of what he says and does.
This has clearly come at a cost, however. By giving Trump this massive (and free) platform to reach every citizen of the United States, media outlets have been indirectly responsible for bringing attention to his ugly message and uniting groups with some possibly frightening consequences.
CNN is not the only media outlet that has centered on the Trump campaign (we would be kidding ourselves if we said that Liberal America did not contribute), but they have been instrumental in giving a voice to countless Trump apologists and surrogates.
In a Washington Post article, media columnist Margaret Sullivan wrote that CNN, and particularly CNN president Jeff Zucker (who was the head of NBC Entertainment when Trump started The Apprentice) was a big part in creating the monster that is the Trump campaign:
“[Zucker] gave Trump astonishing amounts of free exposure in the Republican presidential primary on the cable network, continually blasting out his speeches and rallies — often unfiltered and without critical fact-checking.”
It can be tough to place the blame on the media, as their content choices are driven by the bottom line, and as Sullivan points out:
“Ratings. Clicks. Audience. Say what you will about Trump as a human being or a potential leader of the free world, he has an ineffable ability to get attention. He has called himself a ‘ratings machine,’ and in the world of TV, ratings equal profit.”
CNN and other media outlets are doing what is best for their bottom lines. But, now that the monster is loose, is it too late to put it back in its cage once the election is over?
Watch below to see Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who was hired by CNN even though he is contractually obligated to say nothing negative about Trump, try to defend his former boss against his many sexual assault accusations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzi3GDtyxAY
Featured Image via YouTube Video
