From Trump to #MeToo: A Dizzying Year in TV News
Michael M. Grynbaum: President Trump ended his final interview of the year by warning
that “newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I’m not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes.” He’s not wrong!
Big salaries, big ratings, big perks.
1, even as it resurrected throwbacks like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, a sign
that audiences were more turned on by ideology than by personality.
Thanks to the daily press briefings at the White House, people like April Ryan, Jim Acosta and other workaday journalists became boldfaced names.
John: But let’s also consider this: The #MeToo movement ended the careers of Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose.
Michael: A man also known as “Who?”
John: And the biggest network transfer of the year — Megyn Kelly to NBC, at a cost of about $17 million in salary — got off to a rough start.
And Americans, seeking clarity amid the noise, turned to networks like Fox News and MSNBC in record numbers.