From Vanity Fair: “According to several people briefed on the discussions, the presumptive Republican nominee is examining the opportunity presented by the ‘audience’ currently supporting him.”
So imagine a Trump television network and Internet multimedia operation in the wake of a Democratic victory in November. It would, of course, have to out-Fox Fox. It would be dedicated to telling the most dedicated supporters of the presumptive GOP nominee what they want to hear. 24-7 coverage of the themes Fat Crybaby is currently hitting on the stump.
How much damage could that do? The case for “none” is that there will be a backlash to Trumpist nativism after the election; moreover, Fox has already mined those veins for all that they are worth. (Viz its coverage of the New Black Panther Party.)
The case for “a little” is similar, just assuming that the new venture could move the Overton Window a little bit and might push Fox to become even less hinged.
The case for “a grave amount” is that it would provide a platform for extreme nativism and abet the creation of large-scale organizations openly dedicated to white identity politics. The Overton Window moves somewhere out to geosynchronous orbit.
I have no idea.
Out Foxing-Fox wouldn't necessarily be a recipe for profits. TV networks want not just viewers but young, preferably affluent viewers, as it's for them that advertisers will pay the most. Given the, ahem, maturity of most Fox News viewers, they're not quite a goldmine for advertisers.
Posted by: Peter | June 16, 2016 at 04:25 PM
The Talk Radio industry has been facing economic headwinds in the last few years. Most companies are leery of being associated with anything too right of center on mass media platforms. There are a few niche areas (gold, self-lubricating catheters, scams, partisan businesses etc). That's probably not enough to support a Trump TV network. Fox is probably about as far as mass media can go before the corporate sector pulls the plug.
I expect more right-wing grassroots activism/organizing and a larger quantity and higher quality of internet content to feed the grassroots' demand for more extreme political content.
Posted by: Dave K. | June 16, 2016 at 06:45 PM
According to Nielsen, the average age of the FOX news viewer is 67, and that's a slight decrease from earlier years. Even with its post-retirement age viewership, it still leads among the crucial 25-54 demographic of television news viewers.
(Imagine a 27-year-old who watches The O'Reilly Factor. It's the FOX News show with the most appeal to that key demographic. What must they be like, someone that young who finds his Baby Boomer blowhard persona appealing? I think I can guess: it's the sports fan who gets all jingo about the local team, but translated to far-right politics. There simply can't be that many of them, though, given the average age.)
Posted by: Carlos | June 16, 2016 at 06:50 PM