The Sorcerer, the Apprentice, and the Media
Trump as a candidate challenges journalism, which is mixed up with Bolsonaro's jettisoned
Aug.16.2023 12:16PM
The former American president can be tried during the electoral race and can be elected even while in prison, repeat journalists around the world, many without hiding a certain level of "Schadenfreude", the joy of seeing others getting hurt, given the bizarre political situation in the most powerful country in the world, an example of democracy. At least until the page where his name appears: Donald Trump, the 45th US president, the first to become a defendant, three times, including for trying to reverse his defeat at the polls in 2020.
Trump, the conman, needs to be punished for the infamous January 6th and for the many other crimes he collects. Trump, the candidate, cannot be removed from the electoral dispute, because then American democracy would be at risk, according to himself and, so far, to a good part of the Republicans and their voters.
Amidst all this is the media, which needs to spin the plates, the Trumps, and a general public hostile to journalists. In May, CNN got a serious beating for conducting a town hall with the former president. The host was mocked by the audience and by the interviewee himself for having asked difficult questions. For critics, it is absolute proof that space should not be given to those who occupy it in an impolite and anti-democratic way. The broadcaster, not without reason, claimed the opposite, that it is indeed its role to listen to everyone and even to the worst.
There are also less noble reasons. Trump is an audience machine, dismissing his presence in a debate or interview is not an easy decision. Cable channels in the US are losing their audience. Analysts predict unprecedented fragmentation of US media coverage of the 2024 election, which should undermine forecasts, polls, and priorities.
More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/ombudsman/2023/08/the-sorcerer-the-apprentice-and-the-media.shtml
