Giving up the ‘Golden Goose’ how the Trump presidency shaped the media and what’s to come Pete Vernon For the past four years, Donald Trump dominated politics, the press, and the daily thoughts of Americans as no single figure ever has. His tweets, taunts and tantrums set the agenda for the day’s news, leaving journalists — and their audiences — scrambling to keep up. The Trump era, marked by vitriolic attacks on the media and the failure to stand up for press freedoms abroad, did, however, harbor a cynical silver lining when it came to news organizations’ bottom lines. In 2016, then CBS executive chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves said of Trump’s candidacy, “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.” By admitting the quiet part out loud, the since-disgraced media mogul hit on a truth about the 45th president: whether Americans loved him or loathed him, they couldn’t turn away.