On SiriusXM POTUS, Angelo Carusone: Media Outlets Can Hold Trump Accountable By “Forcing Him To Come On Camera”

Media Matters' Angelo Carusone Explains That “It's Much Easier And Advantages The Person On The Phone When You're Speaking And The Other Person Is On TV”

From the March 31 edition of SiriusXM's Pop Politics with Ted Johnson:

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TED JOHNSON (HOST): If you were to guess, do you think Trump's campaign now is in for kind of a pretty rough ride with the media in terms of scrutiny, more questions asked about Trump's business background? 

ANGELO CARUSONE: I think so. I think the business background will be tougher for them to really push on. I think because they feel like it's not going to -- it's not a high valence kind of thing and this in this current media landscape, that's both fragmented, that is so digital-driven and social-driven, you really need high valence stories in order to commercialize them. And that is just a bedrock consideration throughout this entire process. I mean, there's a reason why, when Trump does CNN interviews, that Jeff Zucker, who's the president of CNN, typically personally manages the logistics around them, I mean, that's extremely bizarre to have the president of a network like that managing these kind of interviews. Because it's such a cash cow. And so, I think the business side of it will get some scrutiny. But it's very complicated, and sometimes it doesn't have the sort of trigger response or high valence response that many stories that would be more shareable would. I do think, however, that there's going to be more confrontation with facts during interviews, so I think you'll see a dwindling of the telephone interviews. Forcing him to come on camera more, which obviously changes the game. It's much easier and advantages the person on the phone when you're speaking and the other person is on TV, it's harder to interrupt them, it's harder to control the interview. So I think, one, they're going to start forcing him to come on camera more. And two, as we've seen, even Anderson Cooper the other night, was consistently pushing back. We saw it with the radio host in Wisconsin, who kept saying, “well, you're not answering the question.” Pushing on that. That's the kind of stuff that we didn't see six months ago. You know, he would give a response on Meet the Press, and then, ok, next topic, next topic. They wouldn't drill down three or four layers, and typically, if you ask many reporters, especially who cover major national figures, they will acknowledge that you typically won't get a response to a tough question until your third or fourth of fifth followup.  And sometimes it takes a little bit of teamwork, like another reporter following up on your question, so that it's clear that it's something that cuts across the full spectrum. And so I do think  it'll be a little bit more challenging, he'll be pressed more, and I think some of his flim-flam will not be as effective as it had been. So he's definitely in for a bit of a bumpier ride with the media. 

Previously:

AP Highlights The Growing Backlash To Trump's Reliance On Phone Interviews

Trump's Abortion Comments Demonstrate The Importance Of Taking Away His Phone Privileges

Trump's Unprecedented Phone Privileges Are Helping Him Smear Michelle Fields