Donald Trump’s unprecedented demands on reporters have had no impact on the amount of coverage that major networks continue to lavish on the candidate, exceeding every other nomination hopeful including Hillary Clinton.
The $2 billion worth of free press that he has enjoyed came even as Trump’s campaign imposed significant limitations on reporters, according to BuzzFeed’s Kyle Blaine.
“After several incidents of Trump campaign aides threatening to revoke credentials for reporters who left the fenced-in press pen, representatives from ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, and CNN organized a conference call with Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to negotiate access,” he reported.
“[T]he Trump campaign, citing security concerns from Secret Service, dictated to the networks that their camera crews could only shoot Trump head-on from a fenced-in press pen,” Blaine continued. “Under the Trump campaign’s conditions, camera crews would not be able to leave the press pen during Trump’s rallies to capture video of audience reactions, known in the industry as ‘cutaway shots’ or ‘cuts.’ Networks would also not be able to use a separate riser set up to get cutaway shots. The terms, which limit the access journalists have to supporters and protesters while Trump is speaking, are unprecedented, and are more restrictive than those put on the networks by the White House or Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which has had Secret Service protection for its duration.”
The BuzzFeed report, which is based on testimony from more than a dozen network reporters and producers who worry they’re partly responsible for the casino tycoon’s political ascent, claimed television executives submitted to Trump’s demands out of fear they’d lose some of the ratings gold he brought their networks.
“Facing the risk of losing their credentialed access to Trump’s events, the networks capitulated. They did, however, get one concession: When Trump finishes speaking, one person with a camera is allowed to exit the press pen to capture him shaking hands on the ropeline while he exits. That footage is then shared among the networks,” he added.
Trump has made it a staple of campaign events to attack the press for not filming the crowds. He often accuses media of purposely trying to hide the number of supporters who show up to his events, and attacks reporters and cameras crews for being “dishonest” and “liars.”
“When Trump complains that the media does not ‘turn the cameras’ to show the size of his crowds, it’s because, unless they turn or zoom out the head on camera, there is no separate angle to show the crowd,” Blaine reported.
Though a few network executives, including CNN’s Jeff Zucker, have dismissed claims their coverage has contributed to the Trump phenomenon, some, most notably CBS News’ Leslie Moonves, have openly stated that the former reality TV star’s insurgent campaign has benefited their bottom line.
And the free press hasn’t let up yet for Donald Trump.
The real estate mogul’s earned media — that is, news mentions in print, on television and online — is “about twice the all-in price of the most expensive presidential campaigns in history,” The New York Times’ Nick Confessore and Karen Yourish reported.
Much of the Trump coverage, whether in print or on television, has been negative. But this likely matters little to the candidate who once wrote, “even a critical story, which may be hurtful personally, can be very valuable to your business.”
“One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I understand that,” Trump wrote in 1987.
“The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you. I’ve always done things a little differently, I don’t mind controversy, and my deals tend to be somewhat ambitious,” he added. “The result is that the press has always wanted to write about me.”
