Televised Trump Trials?

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Television networks that want Donald Trump’s trials to be televised say public interest justifies the presence of cameras. Not necessarily. That interest is limited. Attorneys, law students, political parties, voters who love defiant politicians like him and those that hate the debasing of America might be glued to TV, should his trials be televised.

Networks are also looking at numbers, but I hope they are not thinking sports because the ‘public’ interest in sports is well-defined. It is tangible. It can be quantified. It’s not a matter of the fisherman throwing a net, and hope for a good catch. It is ticket sales, butts on seats.

Fans that have season tickets are unicorns. They don’t want to miss a Miami Heat game. That interest is more pronounced in Canada  because of Toronto Raptors. There’s no other NBA team, so the interest is both love for the game and love for country. Interest in sports is so total, it ends up in strange bedfellows. It was evident when Deion Sanders ‘Coach Prime’ became Head Coach for Colorado Buffaloes. The strange bedfellows were people who wanted to see the new kid on the block fail, and the ones that always cheer for the underdog. Both of them watched all Colorado Buffaloes games. Ask ESPN and Fox for the numbers. But the overall ‘public’ interest was football.

There’s no doubt Donald Trump is in the news, but it does not justify networks marshalling existing resources into televised trials that do not have the following.

1. Identified viewers

2. Length of time, like NBA and NFL games

3. Level of understanding, like NBA and NFL games

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger

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