With live television a key presidential resource, presidents seek ways to respond to reporters’ questions but in environments that suit their own strengths. The on-the-record press conference has traditionally been an effective venue for responding to reporters’ inquiries, but it also comes with considerable risks and requires the cooperation of news organizations that have a financial incentive to sell ad space. In the modern era, presidents have sought out alternatives such as joint news conferences with foreign heads of state and phone-in events that are generally only recorded and not broadcast.
On the other hand, the more formal news conference has continued to attract considerable coverage, especially when it involves a major issue that could affect public opinion or influence policy. This has been true of most of the issues that have come to define the Trump presidency, including his controversial travel ban, the ongoing investigation into his campaign ties with Russia and his statements on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
A majority of Americans who say they use local TV as their main source for political news (57%) see Fox News as part of the mainstream media, while a slightly smaller percentage (28%) say the same about NPR. In contrast, most who name a cable or satellite TV channel as their main source for political news say they are not using mainstream sources (28%) or don’t know whether they do (29%).
As would be expected from a partisan outlet, Fox’s coverage of Trump was skewed toward the negative. For example, Fox’s reports that focused on Trump’s fitness for office were 92 percent negative and only 8 percent positive. The partisanship also surfaced in reports that focused on Trump’s policy stands and symbolic issue positions, which were all unfavorable.