1. Monthly archive
  2. March 2016

March 2016

The Mutual Dependence of Donald Trump and the News Media

[Commentary] A look at the disturbing symbiosis between Donald Trump and the news media.

There is always a mutually beneficial relationship between candidates and news organizations during presidential years. But in my lifetime it’s never seemed so singularly focused on a single candidacy. And the financial stakes have never been so intertwined with the journalistic and political stakes. Of course, the situation is unique because Trump is unique. His pedigree, his demagoguery and his inscrutable platform — including the proposed mass deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants — make him a giant story. But he is also taking advantage of a momentous and insecure time in American media. News organizations old and new are jockeying for survival in a changing order, awash in information and content but absent the pillars they could always rely upon, like reliable advertising models, secure places on the cable dial or old-fashioned newsstand sales.

Self-Correcting Beyond a Web Era Marked by Sensationalism

[Commentary] The Gawker that posted the Hulk Hogan video — an aggressive and unpredictable news and gossip site — has already passed into memory. So, too, has an era of the web in which Gawker thrived.

Digital news sites with ambition — even the ones, like Gawker, that had originally hailed themselves as being anti-establishment — have undergone something of a self-correction. Vivid videos of random bedroom romps are out; a little bit of privacy is in. Readers, empowered by social media, have reshaped publications directly, by collective will. And they seem to realize that the photos and videos captured on their smartphones or elsewhere could just as easily be used against them as anyone else, including a celebrity.

Once Charter’s deal for Time Warner Cable clears regulatory hurdles, it will offer a compelling growth story

[Commentary] Charter Communications is poised to swallow a much bigger rival. For investors, bigger should mean better. Charter has estimated that it will achieve annual synergies of $800 million with the deal. But analysts say it can surpass that figure if it successfully executes its traditional playbook. That involves new pricing and packaging along with transitioning to all digital at the acquired companies. All digital means faster broadband speeds and more high definition coverage—all improvements aimed at attracting more subscribers. Granted, that will take some deft operational maneuvering. But Charter’s management team has shown that it can deliver.

“What do you mean, you don’t use the Internet? Do you live under a rock?!”


The stigma of being offline

Extra credit and updogs: one year in FCC documents

As part of the newsgathering process, The Verge sends Freedom of Information Act requests, asking for documents maintained under federal law. On a good day, we get something noteworthy. But here's a secret: the majority of requests go exactly nowhere.

For every story you read, there were a handful that never reached escape velocity — requests that were denied, where records didn't exist, or where the documents handed over weren't all that interesting. That's where it gets weird. The FCC closed at least 800 FOIA requests in 2015, according to a log of requests turned over as part of a FOIA request for FOIA requests. A few highlights from that log at the URL below.

© 1994-2026 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.