How 'Breaking News' plays into Trump’s hands

Stephen H. Provost is the author of three books on the Trump phenomenon: Media Meltdown, Political Psychosis, and, Jesus, You’re Fired! All are available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, and on Kindle Unlimited.

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Over the past few years, cable news networks have become obsessed with labeling everything “Breaking News.” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer typically starts his telecasts with something like this:

“Good evening to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I’m Wolf Blitzer in the situation room, and we’re following breaking news.”

In case you missed that, there’s a big chyron at the bottom of the screen, with “BREAKING NEWS” spelled out in white, all-caps lettering to hammer home the point.

Sometimes the news really is “breaking,” but most of the time it isn’t. Nine times out of 10, it seems like it’s a rehash of something from the previous hour or earlier in the day. The network is counting on the idea that you haven’t tuned in before, so it will seem like it’s “breaking” to you.

Stale bread

It’s kind of like going to a restaurant that advertises freshly baked bread, but only bakes it once a week — because that’s how often a new shipment of dough arrives — and simply reheats it for unsuspecting customers who walk in.

“They’ll never know the difference.” Unless, of course, they’ve tasted the bread before, when it was freshly baked. But if they have, they’re already repeat customers anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

Of course, it would be better if the dough arrived more often, just like it would be better for cable news if it got more real breaking news. So, when something new does happen, they’re quick to put it up on the screen to make themselves appear more legitimate.

But imagine if the dough supplier knew about this desperation and decided to ship the restaurant substandard product to fill the gaps, instead of waiting the full week? Maybe the dough had fallen on the floor, or the flour had become infested with weevils. The restaurant (which had fired its own in-house inspectors to cut costs) would just be glad to have “fresh” product and wouldn’t check too closely.

These days, most newsrooms have laid off their in-house inspectors, otherwise known as copy editors, to cut costs... which is why you see so many typos on the screen from day to day. And they’re just as eager for “breaking news” as our fictional restaurant is for fresh dough, so they take what they can get.

Donald Trump is happy to supply it.

More than lies

You may think you see what I’m getting at here: A lot of what Trump says is B.S. And yes, that’s true, but it’s also obvious. He’s playing a more insidious game, as well.

He’ll say he’s calling a press conference — the announcement of which is, in itself, “breaking news.” Then he’ll offer a big announcement, which he has no intention of following through on, thereby creating a whole cycle of “will he or won’t he?” speculation, which can also be labeled as “breaking news.”

When asked about a timeline, he may tease reporters with “we’ll see” or say it will happen “soon” to keep them on the hook.

But that’s not the worst of it. The worst is when he actually does get specific, and the networks report some blockbuster pronouncement. Then, a few hours later, he’ll pull the rug out from under the whole thing by “walking it back” or claiming he never meant that in the first place.

Does this make Trump look bad? Not really. Opinions on Trump are so baked in at this point that critics are expecting the whipsaw and his supporters are loving it.

Gaming the networks

Why? Because it makes the networks look bad. It makes them look like they haven’t done their homework. Or they can be easily conned. Or they’re so desperate for “breaking news” that they’ll put anything up on the screen. Or all three.

Journalists will defend the practice by saying it’s their duty to report what Trump says, because he’s the president and it’s “newsworthy.” But are lies really news when you know they’re coming? Or are they just so desperate for that weevil-filled, half-baked dough that they’ll serve up anything — and their reputation be damned?

The antidote to this would be simple: Report on things when they happen, not when they’re announced. Don’t report that there’ll be an “infrastructure week.” Report when a bill on infrastructure actually starts taking shape.

Don’t report that Trump is or is not going to concede. Report on it if it happens.

Broken news

The weevils are already making us sick, which is what Trump wants. He wants us to become so nauseated by what he calls the “fake news” served up by the “lamestream” media, that we’ll try a new dish at his restaurant of choice: Fox or OAN or Newsmax.

The cable networks are playing right into his hands, because they are serving up fake news.

It’s just that Trump’s the one who’s providing it.

 How “Breaking News” plays into Trump’s hands

Stephen H. Provost is the author of three books on the Trump phenomenon: Media Meltdown, Political Psychosis, and, Jesus, You’re Fired! All are available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, and on Kindle Unlimited.

Over the past few years, cable news networks have become obsessed with labeling everything “Breaking News.” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer typically starts his telecasts with something like this:

“Good evening to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I’m Wolf Blitzer in the situation room, and we’re following breaking news.”

In case you missed that, there’s a big chyron at the bottom of the screen, with “BREAKING NEWS” spelled out in white, all-caps lettering to hammer home the point.

Sometimes the news really is “breaking,” but most of the time it isn’t. Nine times out of 10, it seems like it’s a rehash of something from the previous hour or earlier in the day. The network is counting on the idea that you haven’t tuned in before, so it will seem like it’s “breaking” to you.

Stale bread

It’s kind of like going to a restaurant that advertises freshly baked bread, but only bakes it once a week — because that’s how often a new shipment of dough arrives — and simply reheats it for unsuspecting customers who walk in.

“They’ll never know the difference.” Unless, of course, they’ve tasted the bread before, when it was freshly baked. But if they have, they’re already repeat customers anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

Of course, it would be better if the dough arrived more often, just like it would be better for cable news if it got more real breaking news. So, when something new does happen, they’re quick to put it up on the screen to make themselves appear more legitimate.

But imagine if the dough supplier knew about this desperation and decided to ship the restaurant substandard product to fill the gaps, instead of waiting the full week? Maybe the dough had fallen on the floor, or the flour had become infested with weevils. The restaurant (which had fired its own in-house inspectors to cut costs) would just be glad to have “fresh” product and wouldn’t check too closely.

These days, most newsrooms have laid off their in-house inspectors, otherwise known as copy editors, to cut costs... which is why you see so many typos on the screen from day to day. And they’re just as eager for “breaking news” as our fictional restaurant is for fresh dough, so they take what they can get.

Donald Trump is happy to supply it.

More than lies

You may think you see what I’m getting at here: A lot of what Trump says is B.S. And yes, that’s true, but it’s also obvious. He’s playing a more insidious game, as well.

He’ll say he’s calling a press conference — the announcement of which is, in itself, “breaking news.” Then he’ll offer a big announcement, which he has no intention of following through on, thereby creating a whole cycle of “will he or won’t he?” speculation, which can also be labeled as “breaking news.”

When asked about a timeline, he may tease reporters with “we’ll see” or say it will happen “soon” to keep them on the hook.

But that’s not the worst of it. The worst is when he actually does get specific, and the networks report some blockbuster pronouncement. Then, a few hours later, he’ll pull the rug out from under the whole thing by “walking it back” or claiming he never meant that in the first place.

Does this make Trump look bad? Not really. Opinions on Trump are so baked in at this point that critics are expecting the whipsaw and his supporters are loving it.

Gaming the networks

Why? Because it makes the networks look bad. It makes them look like they haven’t done their homework. Or they can be easily conned. Or they’re so desperate for “breaking news” that they’ll put anything up on the screen. Or all three.

Journalists will defend the practice by saying it’s their duty to report what Trump says, because he’s the president and it’s “newsworthy.” But are lies really news when you know they’re coming? Or are they just so desperate for that weevil-filled, half-baked dough that they’ll serve up anything — and their reputation be damned?

The antidote to this would be simple: Report on things when they happen, not when they’re announced. Don’t report that there’ll be an “infrastructure week.” Report when a bill on infrastructure actually starts taking shape.

Don’t report that Trump is or is not going to concede. Report on it if it happens.

Broken news

The weevils are already making us sick, which is what Trump wants. He wants us to become so nauseated by what he calls the “fake news” served up by the “lamestream” media, that we’ll try a new dish at his restaurant of choice: Fox or OAN or Newsmax.

The cable networks are playing right into his hands, because they are serving up fake news.

It’s just that Trump’s the one who’s providing it.