Hear a Network CEO Revel in the Amazing Profits of Candidates ‘Throwing Crap at Each Other’ (Audio)
An inside look at why the corporate media egg on Trump's divisive—and lucrative—braggadocio, in the words of Les Moonves, chief executive of CBS Corp.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at CBS studios in New York City for a taping of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" on Sept. 22, 2015. (Northfoto / Shutterstock)
By Deirdre Fulton / Common Dreams
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at CBS studios in New York City for a taping of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Sept. 22, 2015. (Northfoto / Shutterstock)
Even as large swaths of the population call for media outlets to do their part in stemming the “dangerous tide of hatred, violence, and suspicion” taking hold in the United States, corporate media—which stands to benefit nicely from the $5 billion 2016 presidential election—is egging on that same divisive rhetoric.
“Go Donald! Keep getting out there!” CBS Corporation chief executive Les Moonves reportedly said during an investor presentation Monday.
Trumpeting the advertising dollars already flowing CBS’s way as a result of the crowded 2016 GOP presidential primary, Moonves said: “We love having all 16 Republicans candidates throwing crap at each other — it’s great. The more they spend, the better it is for us.”
“And, you know, this is fun, watching this, let them spend money on us, and we love having them in there,” he declared. “We’re looking forward to a very exciting political year in ’16.”
Writing for The Intercept, Lee Fang notes that “[t]he call took place right around the same time Trump announced his intention to bar Muslim immigrants from entering the United States, suggesting the CBS chief didn’t know about that yet.”
However, Fang continues, “Moonves’ remarks came after months of similar rhetoric from Trump, including claims that the Mexican government is sending rapists into the U.S. and statements supporting a registration system for Muslim Americans.”
As Common Dreams and others have reported, media companies are positioned to benefit from the unlimited campaign spending corrupting the U.S. political system. As Moonves said in 2012, “Super PACs may be bad for America, but they’re very good for CBS.”
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