Forget the Candidates! The Real 2016 Campaign Is Between Old and New Media

As the dust settles on the GOP's midterms triumph, the obvious question presents itself: how soon until the media kicks into high gear for 2016 coverage. TV news networks, digital, and print outlets have already spent plenty of time on the “who's angling” for the 2016 question, looking both at potential candidates’ brand building and fundraising positioning. And surely, by early 2015, when the lame duck session of Congress is over -- barring big breaking news domestically or abroad -- full-throttle “who's running” will begin. Scratch that -- it has already started the day after the midterms. Part of the rush to cover a contest two years away is practicality -- and in some cases laziness. It's easy to fill TV news shows, digital sites, and newspapers with never-ending stories about Chris Christie visiting Iowa; Rand Paul vs. Ted Cruz; all things Hillary; will Elizabeth Warren play spoiler; can another Bush win, and on and on we go.

But aside from who will run, grab their party's nomination, and become the 45th president, there's another important competition with economic, social, and cultural implications. The media's intensified battle for eyeballs.