American friends wonder why the media cannot ignore the Republican candidate for a week
Last week (September 16) in the US, a Gallop poll suggested that
only one in three Americans have any trust in the media, the lowest ever recorded.
Separately, in a vanishingly rare show of dignity, the major television networks staged a minor rebellion against Donald Trump’s mighty media stranglehold.
This stranglehold is fashioned from dollar bills. Not Trump’s own dosh of course – he brags about not spending money on campaign ads – but from the ratings generated by his nonsensical, childish bombast.
With their round-the-clock, razzle-dazzle coverage of his campaign, network chiefs knew well the destruction they were wreaking on the body politic of the US and its people.
In February, CBS chairman, Les Moonves, said as much. “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS. Man, who would have expected the ride we’re all having right now? The money’s rolling in and this is fun. It’s a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.”
The networks hit their nadir last week when they accepted Trump’s invitation to an event billed as a major statement on President Obama’s place of birth.
Only after a series of testimonials to the great man from retired military men and more than 20 minutes of priceless, live TV coverage, did he finally step up to acknowledge President Obama as American, in a segment that took all of 33 seconds and included the playground jibe that Hillary Clinton started it.
“We got played again,” admitted John King, CNN’s chief national correspondent live on air, while America’s news terriers recommenced lashing Clinton for daring to soldier on through pneumonia.
There are lessons here to be learned by the world’s media. And by all those who say they don’t care how the media works. And, most importantly, by those who routinely call for big, mouthy businessmen to sort out the country’s problems. Watch next week’s debate.
