Who’s Winning the Election? The Networks

Thanks to appetite for stories about outsized personalities like Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), America's quadrennial grudge match for the White House has turned into its own nightly reality show.

A strategist for one Republican presidential campaign, who asked not to be named, tells US News that cable networks are covering this election more rigorously than any cycle since 2008, including more live broadcasts of town halls and rallies where anything can happen. Audiences tune in to live broadcasts of rallies hosted by Trump, for instance, because "you don't know if there are going to be protesters," the strategist says. Online media has boomed since the heated campaign of 2008, so social media, blogs and promoted content provide a constant flow of material for political reporters, says Jim Walsh, chief executive of DS Political, a voter digital advertising network working with numerous Democratic campaigns during this election. Campaigns and political action groups try to create Internet buzz through buying banner ads or shareable online content targeted at their followers, including so-called pre-roll ads that play before videos on sites like YouTube, Walsh says. When this paid content is shared by supporters or critics online, whether it be about a campaign comment or an attack on a rival candidate, it begins trending and TV reporters spot it as another potential election story to fill their broadcasts, he says.