A former CNN executive said the network’s ratings boom during the Trump administration is in direct relation to its constant coverage of the newsmaking president.
In an interview with Digiday, an online trade magazine, several former news executives worried that a Joseph R. Biden presidency could present a ratings and identity crisis for networks that have enjoyed the “Trump Bump.”
“I don’t think it was any more complicated than that Trump was good for ratings,” a former CNN executive who requested anonymity told the magazine. “Make no mistake, it’s a symbiotic relationship. The dramatic rise and relevance of CNN for better or worse is tied to Donald Trump.”
Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN from 2004 to 2010, said a hypothetical President Biden probably wouldn’t generate as much news as Mr. Trump but that people will still tune in because of the pandemic and ongoing racial unrest.
“What would go away is the bad guy in the story. There’s no antagonist. So what are we tuning in for?” Mr. Klein said. “Grandpa is a nice guy. Everybody might be relieved to not watch as much cable news anymore and go find a book to read, a garden to plant, or a socially distanced walk to take.”
“What Trump gave journalistic outlets was an audience that felt the urgency,” he added. “Certainly if Trump loses, that urgency among 70% of the audience might dissipate a little bit, but you’re still going to be in the midst of an economic calamity, this wrenching social debate over inequality, and have a disease that may be killing tens of thousands of people a week.”
