Has Donald Trump Taken Over Media Reporting?

It may have felt like the presidential election completely dominated all the news coverage last year, but in retrospect, that seems almost like a golden age of media compared to what has happened since Donald Trump became President. Over the past few weeks, it has felt as if Trump is the only story that matters, taking over every section of the media world, from style to sports.

“Every journalist, no matter the beat, covers politics now,” Bloomberg tech reporter Sarah Frier tweeted. Her tweet resonated: So far, it has garnered more than 1,600 retweets and 5,000 likes. Coverage of the media industry has, for many outlets, turned into coverage of the president’s antagonistic relationship with the press. At magazine conferences and during drinks with sources, the talk inevitably turns to Trump. Considering that the new Republican administration has cast the majority of the press in a starring role as “the opposition party,” and Trump has decided that the term “fake news” can be (falsely) used to describe any story he doesn’t like (while “alternative facts” can be used to create any story he wants), it’s perhaps no wonder that the relationship between the White House and the media has become a big story in its own right. Not since Watergate has public awareness of journalism seemed so high.