It isn’t the first time Donald Trump has been called a sideshow.
On Friday, the Huffington Post cited the presidential candidate’s exhibitionist behavior as reason enough to move all coverage of his campaign to its Entertainment section. Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim and editorial director Danny Shea made the announcement in a note, writing: “If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you’ll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette.”
It’s a strong stance for a news outlet to banish the coverage of a candidate who is leading polls for the Republican nomination — Trump secured 17 percent support in a Suffolk University/USA Today survey released this week. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush garnered 14 percent.
Some observers wondered whether it was the Huffington Post’s call to make. Others merely questioned the website’s definition of “entertainment.”
Either way, it’s being met with mixed reactions from the media community, which, naturally, aired its opinions on Twitter:
Brilliant decision by the Huffington Post. https://t.co/EA0jkOkp8s pic.twitter.com/EnVKQ1rA5i
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) July 17, 2015
It is not up to The Huffington Post or any other publication to decide which candidates are legitimate. That’s not how this works.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) July 17, 2015
HuffPo moving Trump to the Entertainment section is also–seriously–an insult to Entertainment, which shouldn’t just be “the dumb news.” — James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) July 17, 2015
HuffPo thinks it’s marginalizing Trump when it’s only marginalizing itself. — Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) July 17, 2015
HuffPo covers Trump “campaign” as entertainment, not politics: A statement and a truth. https://t.co/K77m1VEn8S
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) July 17, 2015
What’s the over/under on how long before @realDonaldTrump‘s name shows up in HuffPo’s politics section? 72 hours? 48? 24?
— Nick Martin (@nickmartin) July 17, 2015
More in Media
SPUR publishes AI content tracking standard, pitches OpenAI and Google to join advisory board
Publishers are pushing for AI transparency with a new SPUR standard to track how AI tools use content, and inviting frontier AI labs to help.
Media Briefing: Publishers are turning GEO from an experiment into a business
Publishers are turning GEO into a new revenue stream as clients increasingly look to boost their brands’ visibility in AI-generated answers.
The creator economy’s stance on AI is shifting — again
Creators are integrating AI tools into their workflows, but at what point does it overtake the creative process and result in sameness?