11. The Campaign on Air and Online

Broadcasters’ coverage of the 2024 campaign, like broadcast news in general, reflected the evolving relationship between the big screens in viewers’ living rooms and the smaller screens on their desks and in their pockets. While media consumption is steadily shifting away from the traditional television channels and towards more fragmented and fluid digital and online outlets, legacy broadcasters still hold a central place in this fast-changing media ecosystem. Viewing habits, once set, die hard, so older citizens still receive their news primarily through television, with reduced but still substantial numbers still watching the traditional broadcast news programmes at dinner time and before bedtime. Younger viewers get more of their news online and via social media, but even the youngest report consuming a lot of television news, and citizens of all ages regard television as more trustworthy than online or social media sources (or print for that matter). The biggest broadcast brands, like their print media counterparts, have exceptional reach and have extended themselves effectively into new online environments, either directly through websites and social media accounts, or indirectly, as the news reports and political shows they produce are clipped and shared by others.