The Democratic National Convention has beat the Republican one so thoroughly in ratings that Donald Trump even asked his supporters not to watch Hillary Clinton’s convention speech on Thursday. Now that the convention is over, mainstream media is reflecting on how successful the DNC was as a television event.
According to the New York Times, the DNC was scripted to within an inch of its life in order to take advantage of every minute it had on cable news channels, as well as network stations during the prime 10 to 11 p.m. hour. It also helped that the DNC had a lot of star power, with popular politicians like Cory Booker speaking on Clinton’s behalf, along with celebrities like Lena Dunham, Meryl Streep and Katy Perry. And don’t forget the memorable, inspiring speeches by Michelle Obama and Clinton herself, who made history as the first woman to accept a major party presidential nomination.
Contrast this with how disorganized the RNC was, with one night ending early and with Trump himself calling into The O’Reilly Factor, and when a Benghazi victim’s mother was holding Clinton responsible for her son’s death. Miraculously, Trump spoke to the New York Times about the two conventions, and said he had enjoyed “both shows.” As for the DNC beating the RNC handily in ratings, he takes no responsibility. “I didn’t produce our show — I just showed up for the final speech on Thursday,” he said.
While Clinton’s convention made the most of a traditional medium like TV, the Times did praise Trump for his “asymmetrical media warfare” tactics by using Twitter and other social media to basically suck up the news cycle’s attention on a daily basis. Trump’s convention also got him a boost in voter polls, so as the campaign drags on into November, we’ll see which approach provides the most momentum.
(via New York Times)