President Trump said media ratings would tank without him. Was he right? Maybe. - Poynter

[Steve Timko]

"Now, things are … quieter, more normal, even boring. After four years of the Trump Show, maybe boring is a welcome feeling for media consumers."

https://www.poynter.org/newsletters/2021/does-the-media-miss-donald-trump/ 

[Tom Wolper]

On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 1:37 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

"Now, things are … quieter, more normal, even boring. After four years of the Trump Show, maybe boring is a welcome feeling for media consumers."

https://www.poynter.org/newsletters/2021/does-the-media-miss-donald-trump/

Of course the ratings were going to go down. Trump was a powerful attention magnet and the press operation at the White House kept all national attention on him. And he was always ready to provoke without regard for consequences just to keep the spotlight on himself and the heat from outrage at a high level. As Les Moonves said in 2016, Trump may be bad for the country but he's good for business.

The national news media had months to prepare for a new administration with a throwback style. If they ignored the coming changes they have nobody but themselves to blame.

[Kevin M.]

Now that Trump is out, I feel better offering up legitimate criticism of news networks. They are not the enemy of the people, but they aren’t good at what they purport to do. Setting aside the issue of bias, which infests all the networks like ragweed, there is a distinct absence of journalism on display... specifically there is no reporting of news on TV that I could not get faster and more reliably online.

Anyone catch the “Shep” newscast on CNBC? It is literally Smith introducing segments, then handing it off to somebody else who just reads copy from an AP or Reuters or affiliate story, as B-Roll plays over their voice. Even if they happen to have someone “on scene” of breaking news, they aren’t acting as journalists... just regurgitating facts. The CNBC newscast is the most blatant lack of original content on cable, but the others are as guilty.

When cable news isn’t just reading copy or press releases, they have on pundits, few with expertise on the topics they are asked to discuss. It is oftentimes theatrical, not again it bears no relation to journalism. 

When I hear about a news division with bureaus staffed with experts who embed themselves into stories, I’ll watch. But the hard age that occurs on the cable channels now isn’t contributing to the public debate; if anything the lack of substance detracts from it. 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)