General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKeith Olbermann’s Guide to Surviving the Media Coverage of Donald Trump
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/keith-olbermanns-guide-to-surviving-media-coverage-of-donald-trump-213751Keith Olbermanns Guide to Surviving the Media Coverage of Donald Trump
The longtime cable news anchor begs for some perspective.
By Keith Olbermann
March 21, 2016
snip//
Theyre doing it for the money.
Duhhhh.
Save yourself the aggravation of looking for journalistic malfeasance, political motives, secret cabals or sinister corporations acting stealthily behind the curtain.
No stealth. No curtain. No apologies.
Man, who would have expected the ride were all having right now? asked a giddy CBS Chairman Les Moonves late last month. The moneys rolling in and this is fun.
Moonvesto my experience the most honest executive in media (not that its a suffocatingly full elevator)summed it up: It may not be good for America, but its damn good for CBS. This is going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. Its a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.
What else do you expect from commercial-based broadcasting? Or commercial-based digital and print journalism?
And Moonves is just talking about ad revenues here. He hasnt even touched on the subjects of ratings, or of all the free news product that Trumpand the Fight To Save Us From Trumphas generated. From networks to the net, the mantra If it bleeds, it leads has been replaced by If its Trump, the numbers jump.
Debates and these horrifying Town Halls (which reveal to the world that American public education failed circa 1960) cost more to produce than do candidate speechesbut they also kill off even more hours. And better yet, they produce ratings approaching 10 times the ordinary high water mark. And you can keep talking about these debates or Town Halls the next day on your other news showseven if the event wasnt on your network.
And dont point the finger only at television. You. Are. Reading. This.
The effect the Trump magic wand has had on the web is a little more difficult to quantify, but its there. I truly worry about the future of mankind every time Donnie opens his Clutch Cargo mouth, but he has been right once in this campaign: The news organizations should be paying him for filling all this time and space. Of course, only Trump would fail to recognize that just as assuredly, those news organizations should also be billing him for all the free advertising. The two figures would presumably be a wash.
You want to ask a pertinent question? Dont ask why are they covering him so much? Ask why are we listening/reading/watching them cover him so much?
2. REMEMBER THE MATH
Sure, Donald J. Trump could be elected. Like Barry Goldwater could have been elected. Or like Huey Long could have been elected. Or like George W. Bush might have been elected.
But heres some context you rarely hear: Trumps numbers still pertain to just 42 percent of the country. Thats the latest reliable number of self-identified Republicans and Republican-leaners. Even with the collective media Trumpathon, he has a little over a third of them. Generously, thats 20 percent of the whole country.
Will it grow? Certainly. If he adds all of Marco Rubios support, hed be up to about 51 percent of Republicans and several pundits would self-defenestrate. Butgenerouslythats still only 25 percent of the whole country.
You need other easy-to-digest numbers to suggest orange objects in your mirror may be smaller than they appear? Try Trumps boastand its unquestioned repetition everywherethat he was Number 1 with Hispanics in Nevada. David Damore of Latino Decisions remembered the math and put out a nice little pie chart that indicated that if you considered all the Nevada Hispanics who caucused for Trump, and compared them to all the Nevada Hispanics who caucused for another Republican plus all the Nevada Hispanics who didnt participate or arent Republicans, and Trump lost among Nevada Hispanics, 93 percent to 7 percent. Not all of the seemingly Trump-positives are that truly Trump-negative, but theres a lot of loose numbers flying around there.
Still think he could win? How about the calculation that to be elected in a general election, Trump would need to win about 70 percent of the White Guy vote. I believe the last time anybody did that well in votes by White Guys was when only White Guys had votes.
3. KEEP AN EYE ON THE RATINGS
On the largely uneventful evening of Friday, March 4th, 2016, during the two key cable news hours of 8 and 9 p.m. ET, Nielsen reports that the three networks averaged a combined 4,866,500 viewers.
A week later, in the same hours, at the peak of coverage and awareness of Trumps cancellation of his Chicago conclave, the three networks averaged a combined 6,579,500 viewers.
Thats only a 35 percent jump.
Good grief, a well-photographed car chase can make the combined audience grow 35 percent faster than you can say O.J. and A.C. are road tripping again.
It seems to me that thisalong with the steadily dropping GOP debate ratingsmay be the early harbingers of Trump Fatigue.
Trump Fatigue has happened before. Donnies The Apprentice launched on NBC in January 2004, averaged 20,700,000 viewers an episode, and at seasons end ranked as the 7th highest-rated show in broadcast television. Three-and-a-half years later the shows average viewership had thinned out to 7,500,000 and it was in 75th place. Even with the lipstick of celebrities added to the pig in question, the show never again cracked the Top 40 and by the spring of 2013 was 84th in the rankings.
And that was just when Trump was on TV once a week. Now, hes on every night.
In short, television ratings may actually be useful for once. Keep an eye on them. While still rummaging for your passport.
4. REMEMBER THERES STILL A CHANCE A REPUBLICAN TAKES TRUMP DOWN WITH HIM
Marco Rubio may have chickened out, but that doesnt mean Ted Cruz will.
Pundits have actually been reasonably convincing about the likelihood that Republican leaders are facing a choice between disastrous defeat on November 8, and disastrous defeat on November 8 plus the destruction of the party as they know it.
As you watch and read, remember what many have noted: Trumps loss could be assured half an hour from now with the utterance of one sentence by the right person. If Rubio had been smart, he wouldve responded to the first question he received at the Miami debate by complimenting the moderator and apologizing for having not answered the questionand then saying, Donnie, Im dropping out. And Im endorsing John over here. And whats more, Donnie, if you get the nomination, Im voting for Hillary, because youd actually be worse than she would. That bucket of cold water would shock the conservative base out on their Trump fever dream.
Now, Marco would have to go into hiding for awhile. But after the latest extraordinary popular delusion fades, Rubio wouldve been a lead-pipe-cinch for the 2020 presidential nomination. Now its left for Cruz and Kasich to contemplate it.
Likely? No. But if youll recall a point I made elsewhere about the Republicans of 1864 actually thinking about de-nominating Abraham Lincoln two months before that election, or how the Democratic National Committee abandoned Harry Truman in mid-train trip in 1948 to save moneyit has happened and you have to admit, it would be funnier than seeing Trumps hair revert to its actual configuration.
Good grief, for a quarter century now, the Republicans have been doing nothing but gerrymandering and jerry-rigging and Jerry-Springering who can and cant run and who can and cant get elected. This is finally the time for them to step up and cut somebodys legs out from under them!
5. TRY TO IMAGINE WHAT TRUMP LOOKS LIKE WHILE HES DOING PHONERS ON TELEVISION
Phoners? There are no phoners! There are no phoners in television!
Yet there you see himcorrection, hear himevery day, calling in to every live show except Watch Whats Happening Live: Vanderpump Rules.
Phoners are for emergency stories or emergency camera failures. Or, for guys who dont want to bother taking the hours required to put on the 10 coatings of Sunkist No. 12 Spray Tan, or who havent yet finished how ever long it actually takes to build The Great Wall Of Combover.
So, imagine this: What combination of pasty, jaundiced, jowly and balding is Trump when he starts talking, his mouth always too close to the phone? Does he make the same disconnected gestures? If his real-time image suddenly and unexpectedly appeared would you recognize him? Or would you mistake him for, say, Churchill? Or Zero Mostel?
Admittedly there may be no practical value to trying to imagine what Donnie looks like while hes literally phoning it in. But its funny.
snot
(10,478 posts)"The Great Wall Of Combover."
(And Mexico's gonna pay for it!)
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,780 posts)Sounds about right.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)He plays into every stereotype of the liberal elitist snob who thinks he is better than everyone else.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)brett_jv
(1,245 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Duval
(4,280 posts)His wit is amazing!
FailureToCommunicate
(13,989 posts)difference in primary votes.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/03/15/ny-times-trumps-mammoth-advantage-in-free-media/209262
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)1. Change channel immediately.
2. Turn off TV or radio.
mreilly
(2,120 posts)... it sounds nice, like there might actually be some Republicans decent enough to recognize the greater of two evils and work against Trump, but I just find it impossible to believe any of them well. No matter their thoughts, these people have been programmed for 20+ years to believe Hillary is a dishonest murderer who will ruin this country if elected. They've been trained to believe the worst Republican is still infinitely more intelligent, competent and honest than the best Democrat.
No, I think some Republicans will pay lip service to supporting "anyone but Trump" but when the time comes to actually vote they will adhere to their programming and go for the guy with the "R" after his name, no matter what, come hell or high water.
Not trying to be pessimistic or a killjoy, but that's the way I see it. They are just too conditioned to ignore facts and reality and to insist that the whole country goes to ruin whenever a Democrat occupies the White House.
BumRushDaShow
(127,270 posts)And that movie is now 40 years old this year.