The only topic that the three top evening newscast covered more in 2015 than Donald Trump’s presidential bid was winter weather, according to an analysis of coverage by ABC, NBC and CBS by news analyst Andrew Tyndall.
Those three evening newscasts spent 327 minutes covering Trump and 377 minutes covering winter storms. The news programs covered the San Bernardino shooting for 237 minutes and the Islamic State for a total of 220 minutes.
Last year, they covered the Democratic presidential frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, for just 121 minutes and the Republican presidential debates for 123 minutes, according to the Tyndall Report.
Tyndall said that the evening news programs spent less time covering the economy and foreign policy than in previous years. But the programs did not spend as much time covering the presidential election in 2015 as they did in 2007. According to Tyndall’s analysis, the three networks covered the presidential election for a total of 1,072 minutes in 2007, while they spent 1,031 on the upcoming presidential election in 2015.
H/t Media Matters
Understandable, what with Trump being such a blow hard…
Yeah, the media has covered Trump more like an out of control screen star than a candidate for political office.
Is anybody else getting tired of turning on the TV and seeing Trump’s big fat face on it? I have never seen the cable stations give one candidate so much free time and attention and be so ill prepared to ask Trump good follow up questions like, do you think that your ME ME ME and I I I attitude can work with the congress and the other nations you would have to work with as President? Joe Scarborough makes me sick and Mika cannot hold a candle to this overwhelming right wing Jerk.
Frequent, maybe. But I wouldn’t say “popular”.
Here’s how you get through it: pretend it’s Andy Kaufman in a mask. Then it even makes sense.