Marc Ash Reader Supported News
At the beginning of 2016 Hillary Clinton seemed like a shoe-in to win the White House. Her polling numbers were very strong and the Republicans were in disarray. It seemed as though the election in November wouldn’t be close.
But not close presidential elections are not profitable elections for the US commercial press. Any presidential election generates viewers, readers and listeners but close presidential elections generate windfall profits and American media companies love windfall profits.
In the early spring of 2016 US media corporations needed a viable Republican challenger to Clinton and the Democrats, someone who could turn what appeared a not very close election into a very profitable cliffhanger.
There really wasn’t a compelling and qualified Republican candidate. John McCain and Mitt Romney had both lost to Barack Obama and neither had seemed particularly competitive. But there was New York business man, playboy and TV reality star Donald Trump. Trump wasn’t qualified but he was compelling and that was something the US media could build upon.
By the early spring of 2016 the Cable news coverage Trump rallies was non-stop. Trump’s belligerent and bellicose style made for bad policy but it made for good television ratings and advertising revenue. CBS executive chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves speaking of Donald Trump’s style put it this way, “It May Not Be Good for America, but It’s Damn Good for CBS.” The US media had found their Republican challenger and their profits, America be damned.
Donald Trump is of course well aware of how his relationship with the corporate media functions. Unsurprisingly he sees it in transactional terms, I give you ratings and profits-you give me disproportionate coverage that I can convert into political power. Quid. Pro. Quo. It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for Donald Trump and the US corporate media’s bottom line.
One central reason why the Republicans have largely lost faith in free and fair elections is that they are not winning them. The candidates are mostly white and focus largely on white grievance. The Democrat’s strategy of diversity and inclusion gives them a lot more options and opportunities on election day.
The Electoral Collage has emerged as the Republican’s last best hope of winning presidential elections. Not since George HW Bush in 1988 has a Republican won the popular vote for President. The last two Republicans to serve as president, George W Bush and Donald Trump failed to win a majority on election day but won via the Electoral Collage.
Close elections make Electoral Collage wins more likely. When the vote counts are very close and the margins razor thin the Electoral Collage factors in more prominently. The Trump campaign is focusing their resources in the critical swing states and counties that shifted back and forth over the past three presidential elections. They are clearly hewing to a a strategy that is very Electoral Collage conscious.
Will the US media corporations grasp the long term advantages of responsible political coverage that leads to competent governance, or will the temptation to color the race as a dead heat and reap the profits win out.
Don’t bet on good judgement.
Source: Reader Supported News 8/4/24 https://www.rsn.org