Why the Press Can’t (and Shouldn’t) Quit Trump

[Commentary] The logic behind the Doanld Trump blackout proposals varies, but usually boils down to this: Any attention given to his retrograde “ideas” only end up giving his candidacy additional velocity. But just because Trump is a potential menace to society, why does that mean TV should give him the blind eye? The more hateful and demagogic a politician the more you should cover him, right?

Imagine that in January 1954, when Sen Joe McCarthy’s approval rating hit its peak, McCarthy’s critics had urged the TV press to stop covering the senator for a week because all the attention was feeding the man’s diseased ego and expanding his reach. Or how about making a similar pitch in 1972, when the vile tub-thumper George Wallace was winning Democratic Party presidential primaries across the land (Michigan!). As if placing McCarthy and Wallace out of sight would have rendered them out of mind. The notion that the press has dreadfully overcovered or tragically undercovered a topic is the idiot’s version of press criticism. No perfect dose of journalism can be prescribed for every subject. But if you still think that the TV news operations are overcovering Donald Trump, I have a simple suggestion. Unplug your television instead of asking the news channels to turn off their cameras.