TELEVISION & POLITICS
How television networks benefited from Donald Trump and how Trump benefited from television networks
The invention of the television has made it easier for us to view what is happening around us through visual and audio representations. With new technology constantly coming out our culture has become consumed with media and electronics especially with the past presidential election, but television remained a key component in the race for president. Donald Trump took full advantage of the media coverage he was getting whether or not it was good publicity or bad. For example, the media released a video that was recorded in 2005 between Trump and Billy Bush from Access Hollywood. The video proved that Trump made several rude and inappropriate comments about Nancy O'Dell, Entertainment Tonight Host. Even after the release of the video and much more information released about Trump's behavior towards women, he was still elected president (Entertainment Tonight, 2016). Trump turned around the negative back lash that came along with the release of the video. He took to his personal Facebook account posting a recorded video apologizing to Americans. He was very open about his past and about who he is today, saying "I’ve never said I’m a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I’m not. I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me, know these words don’t reflect who I am (Donald J. Trump, Facebook,2016)." He continued to give examples of the positive things he has done to help out his country. For example, he said, "I’ve spent time with grieving mothers who’ve lost their children, laid off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries, and people from all walks of life who just want a better future(Donald J. Trump, Facebook,2016)." When all said and done the video had no major affect on Trump's campaign to becoming the 45th President of the United States."Still, Trump’s past controversial comments have failed to shake his core supporters,"said David Axelrod, a former political adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama (China Morning Post,par.17,2016).
Not only did televison open the door for new modes of communication, but social networks such as Facebook and Twitter changed the way the society participated in the election. This relates to citizen journalism , which allows ordinary people to voice their opinions on different media platfroms, and then others look to their Tweet or post on Facebook as a valid source of information (Maddelena 250). Trump participated heavily in social networking over the course of the campaign. For example, one Tweet Trump sent out was about Clinton's incapabilities as the future President of the United States.
This past presidential election had many people turning to their TV to stay updated on the latest tactics from Trump. For example, in the first debate of the 2016 election 84 million people tuned in (Neilsen.com,2016). Typically younger generations do not have an interest in politics, but the 2016 election had everyone tuning in. Why? First of all Trump is a very well- known celebrity name who over the past few years has made comments about possibly running for President of the United States. Trump followers loved the idea, but others were questioning his intentions.Television coverage of the 2016 presidential election is an example of how media has the potential to influence voters. TV news stations like Fox News, NBC and CNN were non-stop covering the election. As the election was coming to an end the TV news stations seemed to narrow their attention onto Trump, whether the information was unfavorable or in favor of his campaign trail. By examining the television coverage of the past 2016 election, it will be clear that the media coverage in Trump's campaign helped him to win the past 2016 presidential election.
It is important to keep in mind the attention that television networks and workers brought on during the 2016 election. Television is growing and it is one of the dominant mediums for people to gather information and be entertained (peacock 47). For instance, Nielsen Holdings a global information and data company estimated that 114.9 million U.S. households would own TV sets for the year 2009 to 2010, which was an increase from previous years (Neilsen.com,2009). As TV journalist and producers it is the medias job to decide what material they are going to cover based on a few different factors such as: importance, reliability of the source, biases, accuracy and entertainment value (Peacock 47). The media has a huge responsibility for disseminating news to the public, but they have to be careful that they do not lose sight of the most important thing the truth. For example, in a recent article done by CNN, Trump accused them [CNN] of presenting "fake news". After further information came out , CNN backed up their claims contained in their first article with more information they [CNN] gathered ( CNN Politics, Angela Dewan and Milena Veselenovic,2017). Although Trump challenged CNN about their news coverage, they were still able to provide evidence to back up there so called "fake news" claims, undermining Trump's statement about the quality of the news they released.
Competition between networks also increases the demand for news and to be the first and the best. If you're bringing something that your competitor is not then you will probably create better ratings for your program and have more of an impact on viewers.
Either way television networks were benefiting from all of the viewership they were getting from the election. For example , "According to USA today, from July 2015 to the end of the October, coverage of Trump cost $5.6 billion in articles, TV and radio news segments, blog posts, podcasts and social media mentions" (ProQuest,USA Today,2016).
Furthermore, in an article by The Hollywood Reporter, Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS, stated that Trump running for president may have been a disadvantage for American citizens, but was good news for a big television network such as CBS. "I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going," said Moonves (Hollywood Reporter,Bond,2016). Due to the fact that television networks covered Trump so much, that ended up being the only thing that people could talk about. Yes of course many people were still behind Hillary Clinton, but Trump remained on top when it came to news coverage.
With all of the media coverage Trump was receiving networks were gaining more viewership. Trump's crazy antics worked because it always guaranteed that he was going to be on the next news broadcast. For example, Fox News on average had 3.3 million viewers primetime, which was a major increase of 68% for them since 2015 (Edkins par.3). Furthermore, in an article published by Forbes online stated that Fox News continuously out did CNN and MSNBC in viewership ratings. And in November they [Fox News] had one of their best rating months in over three years (Edkins,par.2). CNN avergaed 1.5 million viewers. And MSNBC had 1.3 million viewers.
In conclusion, with increased viewership, people were able to listen and watch what the candidates did throughout this past election, which helped candidates build their relationship with their viewers. By analyzing the television coverage that all candidates received during the 2016 election, especially Trump. It is evident that whether the media is being dishonest or reporting the truth, television coverage benefits both the television networks and the candidates throughout the election and after.
Television networks may have more influence during the election than they think based on favorable or unfavorable messages, how much coverage each candidate or campaign receives, and how much the media focuses on the issues that each candidate presents (Norris, John Curtice, David Sanders, Margaret Scammell, and Holli A.Semetko 130). By examining different situations of television news coverage we can see how this might occur.
"Positive’ television news coverage of a particular party, in comparison with ‘neutral’ coverage, will tend to increase support for that party among voters; ‘negative’ coverage will tend to reduce support" (Norris, John Curtice, David Sanders, Margaret Scammell, and Holli A.Semetko 132).
In the case of the 2016 presidential election negative coverage had no major affects on Trump's campaign, because in the end he was elected the 45th President of the United States.
"Greater exposure for a party will tend to increase support for that party; less exposure will tend to reduce its support" (Norris, John Curtice, David Sanders, Margaret Scammell, and Holli A.Semetko,132)."
In the case of the 2016 election more media coverage was the key to success. Trump was heavily covered in the election campaign and that not only helped him get his message across about making America great again, but viewers were constantly watching him and forming opinions on him.
The election gave Trump a platform to change the way that politics was communicated, he turned out to be extremely marketable and used his celebrity platform to his advantage (Maddalena 246). Trump used television coverage to get ahead of the other candidates by being transparent and brutally honest. Viewers' always knew how he was feeling by his facial expressions, he used gestures to help enhance his points during speeches. Trump always spoke his mind and did not worry about the consequences. He said what he wanted to, he did not worry about what others thought or whether he had offended someone. He spoke to journalist how he wanted to and wasn't afraid to call out the media. Trump changed communication in politics (Maddalena 249).
Candidates turned to a variety of different television networks in order to present their policies and show voters that they are invested in being a good President. Focusing on these shows helped them build an image and relationship with the viewers.Building a relationship with the viewers gives the candidates a chance to have an impact on how they vote. The shows can bring up issues, but they can also highlight different sides of the candidate that you may not get to see when they are campaigning (J.Johnson 506). For example, with visuals of Trump widely distributed across diverse media, the nation has now viewed so many instances of presidential behavior that almost anything seems acceptable (Hall 74). One of his most famous gestures was one we might already recognize from his reality television show, Celebrity Apprentice. He would point his hand in the shape of a pistol gun and then he would fire contestants off his show. Trump continues to use this iconic gesture and used it during his campaign to rally up the crowd.
Television news framed Trump's behaviour and gestures in a way that was captivating the viewers emotions. In the 2016 election this was very prominent because many viewers did not approve of Trump as a candidate. The TV coverage during the election stired up many emotions such as: anger,disgust,happiness,envy, sympathy and dislike (S.Morris 58).
In an article from Forbes online, they looked into a study done by Shorenstein Center on Media and Public Policy. The object of the article was to show the different intersections between the media and politics. According to the study’s author, Trump dominated the news because his behavior met the stories' demands (Edkins par.5). Furthermore, Trump voiced his concerns about the media and fact checking throughout the campaign, but even with all of the accusations about Trump in the media and on television networks he still benefited from the coverage. One of the major benefits from all of the news coverage was getting his message across America. Donald Trump's message was "Let's make America Great again", which was repeated over and over by the candidate and the media (Edkins par.5).
"Television make news very visual so the audience can see your movements, body language, facial expressions and hear the different tones in your voice depending on what you are talking about" (Peacock, SAGE,2016).
"The manner in which a television news story is framed has been found to directly influence mass opinion on a wide range of topics" (S.Morris 58). (Example, video below).
Throughout the 2016 election another way that television networks were grabbing people's attention was through comedy. For example, shows like: Comedy Central, SNL, HBO's John Oliver, CBC's Rick Mercer, 22 minutes, Samantha Bee, Conan O'Brien, The Simpsons and Jimmy Fallon were just a few of the shows that were constantly incorporating skits and jokes about the candidates or campaign into their show. Each of theses shows created their own way of representing the past election through comedy and also intrigued viewers who were not very up to date or interested in politics. Out of all these famous network shows many of them may have targeted one candidate more than the others, this candidate being Trump. For example, Samantha Bee, Canadian- American comedian, used Trump coverage many times on her show Full Frontal. One episode she focused on "how Trump couldn't read", showing clips from a deposition and other meetings he had attended to (Ahsan par.1).
Rick Mercer : Rick Mercer Report
The 2016 election was not the first presidential race to capture viewers through comedy, but in the 2004 presidential election, The Daily Show and its host John Stewart captured the eyes of many. Five years later in 2009 there was an analysis done on The Daily Show. The study was done to see the connection between politics and comedy TV broadcast. In the study by Jonathan S.Morris, from the Department of Political Sciences at East Carolina University, he found that The Daily Show was not bias in its coverage and did not purposely persuade or influence viewers in any way (Morris 98). Even if the late night shows are proven to have no influence over the election results, it was still evident that the late night shows played a big roll in capturing viewers and forming opinions on the past 2016 U.S. election.
How do we trust that journalist and television networks are giving viewers accurate and informative information? Donald Trump repeatedly talked about and continues to talk about the problem with the media at his press conferences. For example, in a recent news conference Trump rejected a reporter stating that his news was "fake news" (Global News, Frisk, par.1). The fact that Trump is doing this might be confusing because many of the stories that have come out about Trump over the period of the election turned out to be true and there was a video or voice recording to backup the truth about the stories. For example, as I mentioned before the video recording that was leaked involving Trump and Billy Bush from Access Hollywood having an inappropriate discussion about a married women (Entertainment Tonight).
Furthermore, candidates like Trump used his personal Twitter account to communicate what he was feeling, which works in our generation , which is consumed with their electronic devices and social networking sites. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter make it easier for our generation to view the news. Our generation has a fairly low attention span,which is another reason why social media sites work. To relate television to social networking sites is easy because television is another platform where people are flipping through quickly. TV has such a wide variety of channels that the user becomes in control of what they would like to watch. With the remote control it makes it easier for consumers to choose what channel they would like to watch. And with more recent additions such as the PVR [personal video recorder], which allows you to record television and also gives you the ability to pause and rewind live TV. Users are not as concerned with the live aspect of television. The impact that the election had was the attention it drew to live TV coverage, many television consumers were on the edge of their seats waiting to watch the lively and sometimes comical debates between Clinton and Trump (Jonathan S.Morris. Richard Forgette 92-94).
With the addition of social media to television news , citizen journalism is a growing media in today's society. Anyone can post to any social media platform whether the information is verified or not. The difference between citizen journalism and regular journalism is that it is a reporter is expected to bring forward the truth and the full story. Citizen journalism isn't as reliable due to the fact that many citizens are not fact checking before they post to Twitter or Facebook. The past 2016 election is a great example of the media failing to double check information, especially when it comes to news about Trump (USA Today 1). "Media coverage is everywhere nowadays, and it's important to remember that everything is subjective" (USA Today 1).
"My question is what role the paper's hard-news coverage should play with regards to false statements-by candidates or by others" (New York Times,2012,par.8).
"The objectivity norm guides journalists to separate facts from values and to report only the facts" (Schudson 150).
"Perhaps only one thing has united candidates in the 2016 presidential campaign: The media have treated them unfairly whether it be biased coverage, superficial coverage, or not enough coverage" (J.Johnson 504).
Courtesy of Conspiracyscope/NBC NEWS/YouTube
Courtesy of Donald J.Trump for President/YouTube
Courtesy of Fox News/YouTube
Introduction
Increased Viewership
Television network influence in politics
The discussion between Bill O'Riley and Chris Wallace is around the media bias in the 2016 election. O'Riley explains that the media has been bias from the beginning because they did not believe that Trump was worthy enough to be the President of the United States.
Comedic approach to politics
Television paved the road for current technology, especially in politics. For example, when NBC broadcast a video of Donald Trump mocking New York Times reporter, Serge F. Kovaleski, Trump denied he did that over and over to the press. The broadcast gave the viewers a chance to decide for themselves. ( CNN, YouTube). Before TV was invented it would have been easy for another person to deny certain actions or statements during a campaign, but since television broadcasts it has been harder for candidates to keep their dirty secrets hidden from people all over the world. Television gave politics a platform to make people more interested and invested in who they were electing as their President. It also gave viewers the chance to see what happens during a political campaign. And lastly it gave the media a chance to present their work.
When television first became a new medium that people were using all over the world, 98 per cent of U.S. households had at least one television, and 75 per cent had two or more. The average American spent almost four hours a day watching television, and the average number of channels available per home numbered well over forty (Jonathan S.Morris. Richard Forgette 93). At first television news was said to be insignificant, but later on television news was found as a powerful medium that potentially had the power to influence many viewers around the world (S.Morris 58). For example, this is one of the major reasons why politics is always a topic of discussion because of the invention of the television. "Not only did television re-envision our sense of the world, it remains, even in the age of the internet, Facebook and YouTube, the most powerful generator of our collective memories, the most seductive and shocking mirror of society, and the most virulent incubator of social trends. It's also stubbornly unavoidable (Anthony par.6). "
Stats provided from Neilsen.com. Nielsen Holdings PLC is a global information, data, and measurement company with headquarters in the United States.
Trump's advertising his campaign message, "let's make America Great Again". The campaign video is another way to interest viewers and intern get more television coverage.
Trumps's iconic gestures and his way of communicatng with the media
Courtesy of Fox News/YouTube
In the video created by BBC, Trump is described as a "New York City creature". The video looks at the most iconic gestures Trump used during his campaign, and still uses as President of the United States. The gestures are broken down into their symbolic meaning.
Courtesy of BBC/YouTube
"Trump, after all, had been the perfect foil for the late-night shows. He said and did things, repeatedly, that were unconventional for political candidates and easily ridiculed. And he said and did other things that suggested he wasn’t all that interested in a pluralistic democracy or even a civil society (Johnson, Chicago Tribune par.7)."
Fact vs. Fiction
Television networks were heavily focused on covering anything to do with the election in 2016, but networks were called out by candidates in regards to the amount of biases in their reports and coverage. In the video you can see how upset Trump is over the false accusations from certain news organizations.
Courtesy of CNBC/YouTube
Over the course of the election television networks host and TV journalist made statements to viewers saying that Trump would never become President, basically saying it was unrealistic. This is one of the major reasons why networks were being called out for "Fake News", because they were bias from the beginning.