Why social media is the real Trump card in the US election | John Naughton

Mainstream news is not to blame for Donald Trump's ascendancy. After all, it's largely ignored by his supporters

As the Trump bandwagon gathers speed, one of the most touching sights is that of mainstream journalists in full-on mea culpa mode. "Those of us in the news media have sometimes blamed Donald Trump's rise on the Republican party's toxic manipulation of racial resentments over the years," wrote the New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof, last Saturday. "But we should also acknowledge another force that empowered Trump: us. I polled a number of journalists and scholars, and there was a broad (though not universal) view that we in the media screwed up."

"Trump is not just an instant ratings/circulation/clicks gold mine; he's the motherlode," Ann Curry, a TV news anchor, told Kristof. "He stepped on to the presidential campaign stage precisely at a moment when the media is struggling against deep insecurities about its financial future. The truth is, the media has needed Trump like a crack addict needs a hit."