Trump’s Media War

The election of Donald Trump as US President in 2016 seemed to catch the world napping. Like the vote for Brexit in the UK, there seemed to be a new de-synchronicity – a huge reality gap – between the unfolding of history and the mainstream news media’s interpretations of and reporting of contemporary events. Through a series of short, sharp interventions from academics and journalists, this book interrogates the emergent media war around Donald Trump. A series of interconnected themes are used to set an agenda for exploration of Trump as the lynch-pin in the fall of the liberal mainstream and the rise of the right media mainstream in the USA. By exploring topics such as Trump’s television celebrity, his presidential candidacy and data-driven election campaign, his use of social media, his press conferences and combative relationship with the mainstream media, and the question of ‘fake news’ and his administration’s defence of ‘alternative facts’, the contributors rally together to map the parallels of the seemingly momentous and continuing shifts in the wider relationship between media and politics. Preface......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Notes on Contributors......Page 11 Part I: Killing the Media......Page 16 Chapter 1: Weaponizing Reality: An Introduction to Trump’s War on the Media......Page 17 Chapter 2: Trump and the Press: A Murder-Suicide Pact......Page 37 Part II: Fake News......Page 44 Chapter 3: Turning the Tables: How Trump Turned Fake News from a Weapon of Deception to a Weapon of Mass Destruction of Legitimate News......Page 45 Turning the Tables: The Claim that Legitimate Media Traffic in Fake News......Page 46 Storming the Barricades of Truth......Page 48 What Can Be Done About These Assaults?......Page 49 What Should Not Be Done to Stop Fake News?......Page 50 Where We Go from Here......Page 52 The Unintended Bounce......Page 54 References......Page 55 Chapter 4: Trump’s War Against the Media, Fake News, and (A)Social Media......Page 59 Donald Trump and the Politics of the Spectacle......Page 60 The Apprentice, Twitter, and the Summer of Trump......Page 61 Twitter, (A)Social Media, and Trump......Page 63 The Trump Presidency, Fake News, and the War Against the Media......Page 65 The Trump Administration, Russia, and the Media War over the Trump Presidency......Page 68 Concluding Comments: Trump, Russia, and the Media......Page 71 References......Page 77 Chapter 5: The War of Images in the Age of Trump......Page 80 Misappropriated Photographs......Page 83 Manipulated Photographs......Page 85 The Photo-Opportunity......Page 87 The Inopportune Photograph......Page 88 The Action Shot......Page 90 Conclusion......Page 91 References......Page 93 Part III: Reporting Trump: Building the Brand......Page 96 Chapter 6: ‘Authentic’ Men and ‘Angry’ Women: Trump, Reality Television, and Gendered Constructions of Business and Politics......Page 97 References......Page 107 Chapter 7: Covering Trump: Reflections from the Campaign Trail and the Challenge for Journalism......Page 110 Fear and Disinformation on the Campaign Trail......Page 112 A Media Problem Bigger than Trump......Page 117 Conclusion......Page 119 References......Page 120 Introduction......Page 122 Background......Page 123 Alex Salmond After 2011......Page 124 The Referendum and After......Page 129 A Shared Approach......Page 131 Conclusion......Page 133 References......Page 134 Part IV: The Politics of Performance......Page 136 Introduction......Page 137 Media, Political Celebrity, and Trump......Page 138 Trump As Celebrity Politician......Page 140 The 2007 Crash and the Rise of Populism......Page 141 The Deflation in the Value Popularly Accorded to Knowledge......Page 142 The Recasting of Sincerity and Authenticity......Page 144 Social Media and the Democratisation of Communication......Page 145 Trump and Accountability......Page 146 References......Page 147 Chapter 10: The Big Standoff: Trump’s Handshakes and the Limits of News Values......Page 150 Why Analyse Diplomatic Handshakes As Standoffs?......Page 153 Lesson One: News Values Lead Media to Amplify Handshakes into Geostrategic Moments......Page 155 Lesson Two: The Global Digital Gesture Is Possible......Page 156 Lesson Three: News Media Can Contain These Standoffs, but Not Entirely......Page 158 Conclusion: The Big Standoff......Page 161 References......Page 162 Chapter 11: “Classic Theatre” as Media Against Trump: Imagining Chekhov......Page 165 “Classic Theatre” As Genre: Mediatized Shakespeare in the Park......Page 166 Chekhov in the War Against Trump: Carnival, Song, and Political Aesthetics......Page 168 Historicizing Chekhov: Online Reviews......Page 172 The STC Three Sisters: De-historicizing Chekhov......Page 176 Chekhov and Hope......Page 179 Conclusion......Page 183 References......Page 185 Introduction: Trump’s “Carnivalesque” War......Page 188 Trump As “Grotesque”: Before He Was President......Page 192 President Trump: “Childlike and Naïve”......Page 194 President Trump: “Camp” and “Ridiculous”......Page 195 “Legitimate” Political Comedy: Sophisticated Attacks......Page 197 Conclusion......Page 198 References......Page 199 Part V: Media Out of the Margins......Page 203 Trolling and Politics......Page 204 4Chan and ‘The Great Meme War’......Page 207 Trump and Trolling......Page 214 ‘Apply Cold Water to Burned Area’......Page 222 References......Page 225 Chapter 14: Trump, the First Facebook President: Why Politicians Need Our Data Too......Page 230 Hyper-personalisation: Just Good Enough......Page 232 Big Data Politics......Page 234 References......Page 240 Introduction......Page 244 Conspiracy Theory and Political Uncertainty in the Information Age......Page 245 Trump’s Foreign Policy Before and After the Election: Political Uncertainty Rising in the Middle East......Page 247 Four Media Events Covering Trump’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East......Page 249 Trump’s Election......Page 253 Immigration Ban......Page 254 The Bombing of the Pro-Assad Military Airbase......Page 255 The Riyadh Summit Speech......Page 256 Conclusion......Page 257 News Sources......Page 258 Index......Page 260 Part I. Killing The Media -- Weaponizing Reality: An Introduction To Trump's War On The Media -- Trump And The Press: A Murder-suicide Pact -- Part Ii. Fake News -- Turning The Tables: How Trump Turned Fake News From A Weapon Of Deception To A Weapon Of Mass Destruction Of Legitimate News -- Trump's War Against The Media, Fake News, And (a)social Media -- The War Of Images In The Age Of Trump -- Part Iii. Reporting Trump: Building The Brand -- 'authentic' Men And 'angry' Women: Trump, Reality Television, And Gendered Construction Of Business And Politics -- Covering Trump: Reflections From The Campaign Trail And The Challenge For Journalism -- The Scottish Provenance Of Trump's Approach To The Media -- Part Iv. The Politics Of Performance -- The Donald: Media, Celebrity, Authenticity, And Accountability -- The Big Standoff: Trump's Handshakes And The Limits Of News Values -- Classic Theatre As Media Against Trump: Imagining Chekhov -- Trump And Satire: America's Carnivalesque President And His War On Television Comedians -- Part V. Media Out Of The Margins -- President Troll: Trump, 4chan And Memetic Warfare -- Trump, The First Facebook President: Why Politicians Need Our Data Too -- Trump's Foreign Policy In The Middle East: Conspiratorialism In The Arab Media Sphere. Catherine Happer, Andrew Hoskins, William Merrin, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.