Jake Tapper (left) and Bill Hemmer
Related: Analyst: Political Ad Spending Falling Short
With a week left in the seemingly interminable 2016 election, reporters and industry watchers on the front lines of this often tawdry battle suggest that Trump v. Clinton may alter the face of American politics, and the way it's covered, for years to come. While Donald and Hillary have been scrutinized from every conceivable angle, it remains paradoxically possible that the electorate still doesn't know where they stand on key issues. Exactly who's at fault for that-the candidates, the journalists who cover them, the public that watches the journalists cover the candidates-is a matter of opinion.
Bill Hemmer, co-anchor of Fox News Channel's America's Newsroom, says one could make a case that neither candidate has yet been fully vetted. That may be the story Nov. 9, he said. I don't think we know how either one of them would govern. Generally speaking, we do not know their policy positions.
Andrew Tyndall, editor of the news analysis-focused Tyndall Report, says 2008 ushered in the modern era of the personality-driven presidential campaign, with then-political wunderkind Barack Obama facing off against steely war hero John McCain. That dynamic has dominated the 2016 bout, he believes. People say it's a horse race, says Tyndall. But it's Survivor, not Seabiscuit. It's a reality TV race more than it's a horse race.
Issues? What Issues?
Tyndall has been crunching the numbers on issues coverage on the evening newscasts at ABC, CBS and NBC, and notes a massive decrease over the years. In 2008, he says there were 220 minutes dedicated to issues on the Big Three nightly newscasts year to date (through Oct. 21), with ABC at 41, CBS at 119 and NBC at 66. That total was essentially halved in 2012 (ABC 13, CBS 70 and NBC 32 for a total of 114), and drastically slashed again in 2016. Tyndall measures just 32 minutes dedicated to issues coverage in 2016: ABC at 8, CBS at 16, NBC at 8.
Related: Fox News Megyn Kelly to Cohost Live With Kelly After Election Day
He attributes fault to both the candidates and the network news outfits. It has turned into a referendum on the candidates' fitness for office, hinging on attributes such as honesty, trustworthiness, judgment, temperament, stamina, good health, comportment and boorishness, Tyndall writes in a report titled Issues? What Issues? If the candidates are not talking about the issues, the news media would be misrepresenting the contest to do so.
With their sheer tonnage of air time, the cable networks have focused both on the personalities and on the less sexy issues. Jake Tapper, chief Washington correspondent at CNN, speaks of seeing a real hunger among the public for meaty discussions. There's an appreciation for non-partisan questions for both Democrats and Republicans, he says. It's real and it's appreciated a great deal by viewers.
Downright Nasty
No one watching from the front lines-or from home, for that matter-has a clear read on the degree to which political discourse has been permanently disfigured. Will future coverage return to an issues focus? Will low blows thrown during debates begin to represent the new boundary for what's acceptable in that forum? The wild accusations to fellow Republicans during the primary season, the insulting nicknames, going after candidates' spouses-does that live on? Tapper wonders of Trump's stagecraft. I don't know.
Related: SNL Election Special' Headed for NBC Prime Nov. 7
Regardless of who ends up on the long side of Nov. 8's verdict, Tapper says neither Trump nor Trumpism-his populist appeal to those fed up with the status quo-is going away.
The media is frequently cited for giving rise to Trump the candidate, but Hemmer notes how Fox News Channel had a standing offer to GOP candidates during primary season to come on its air, and most not named Donald J. Trump repeatedly declined the invitations. One aspect of coverage he says will be questioned the next time presidential hopefuls hop onto the hustings: if and when phone-in interviews will be permitted. That's a fair question for the media, Hemmer says.
Hemmer is quick to list critical issues-the status of Obamacare, the nation's debt, its tax policy-as ones getting short shrift amidst the noise. Tyndall adds climate change, drug addiction and gun control to the list.
Related: Clinton Maintains Lead in Latest NBC/Survey Monkey Poll
Tapper, for his part, notes how Trump raised valid issues about government reform Oct. 17 ( It's time to drain the swamp in Washington, the plan began), only to overshadow his message with talk of suing women who claimed he'd assaulted them. I worry that, if Trump does not win, people in Washington will ignore that message, Tapper says, that Washington isn't working for the people, that Washington isn't about serving the public [right now] but serving special interests, moneyed interests.
Trump TV
The race has tightened thanks to an increasingly disciplined GOP frontrunner, and the FBI's announcement Oct. 28 that it is taking a new look into Clinton's personal emails. Statistical analysis platform FiveThirtyEight.com has Clinton with a 72% chance of winning and Trump at 28% Tuesday afternoon, with Trump's figure climbing throughout the day. (Coincidentally, the Indians and Cubs, respectively, hover near the Clinton-Trump win percentages.) While the polls still favor Clinton, most everyone agrees that we won't have seen the last of Trump if the election doesn't go his way.
Hemmer says he spent more than a month in Tallahassee in 2000, when the hanging-chad drama around Bush-Gore lasted well past Election Day. With Trump talking frequently of rigged elections, things may
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Jake Tapper (left) and Bill Hemmer 
