How did everyone fail to see Trump's campaign coming?
How to report on a political campaign, and why such reporting hasn't happened, explained by Paul Berman in Tablet Magazine:
"You attend political rallies, where you can talk to people in groups. You hang out in neighborhoods where people enjoy talking politics. You allow your chats to wander aimlessly. You strike up friendships. You learn to distinguish eccentric people from typical people. And you come away with a pretty good idea of what ordinary people are thinking and doing. I am certain that any reasonably clever reporter who had spent enough time hanging out with Trump’s supporters would have learned that enormous numbers of those people were doing something more than wearing hats. In America, people boast about their dollar contributions.
I conclude that no one, or hardly anyone, has been reporting on Trump’s campaign in that fashion. Now, why not? Every journalist knows the answer. Reporters have not been reporting because, in the United States, the newspaper industry has largely collapsed. A huge number of newspapers no longer exist. Even at the biggest and most prestigious of the surviving papers, the staffs have changed such that in place of the seasoned old hands, the reporting is being done by young people who once would have been considered “stringers.” [*] And even the stringers are overworked—pressed to turn in stories on a basis of insufficient reporting."
[*"Stringers"]
I recommend that you read the entire article.
"You attend political rallies, where you can talk to people in groups. You hang out in neighborhoods where people enjoy talking politics. You allow your chats to wander aimlessly. You strike up friendships. You learn to distinguish eccentric people from typical people. And you come away with a pretty good idea of what ordinary people are thinking and doing. I am certain that any reasonably clever reporter who had spent enough time hanging out with Trump’s supporters would have learned that enormous numbers of those people were doing something more than wearing hats. In America, people boast about their dollar contributions.
I conclude that no one, or hardly anyone, has been reporting on Trump’s campaign in that fashion. Now, why not? Every journalist knows the answer. Reporters have not been reporting because, in the United States, the newspaper industry has largely collapsed. A huge number of newspapers no longer exist. Even at the biggest and most prestigious of the surviving papers, the staffs have changed such that in place of the seasoned old hands, the reporting is being done by young people who once would have been considered “stringers.” [*] And even the stringers are overworked—pressed to turn in stories on a basis of insufficient reporting."
[*"Stringers"]
I recommend that you read the entire article.
Labels: Donald Trump
posted by Shira Salamone at 8:30 AM
3 Comments:
I get Tablet and read the article when it first came out. Now I'm trying to deal with the exaggerations, misrepresentations and outright lies coming from the Trump campaign. I never thought I'd feel this threatened about any presidential election process. I never thought I'd advocate that Clinton hit as hard and dirty as Trump, but it seems that his rhetoric is what gets the most coverage.
That's one of the many embarrassing things about this Presidential election--Trump gets all the attention by acting like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.
Or perhaps I should say that Trump gets all the media attention by acting like a schoolyard bully, insulting anyone who dares to oppose him and bragging that what he has to offer is bigger and better.
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