Coverage of the Donald Trump arraignment on Tuesday was, in a word, exhaustive.

Wall-to-wall coverage with blaring “BREAKING NEWS” banners and, literally, dozens upon dozens of anchors, reporters and analysts punctuating the coverage on not only cable news networks, but broadcast networks, as well.

ABC, CBS and NBC all broke into regular programming with the big three evening news anchors (David Muir, Norah O’Donnell and Lester Holt) anchoring the coverage. CNN brought in prime-time bigwigs Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper. Rachel Maddow hosted MSNBC’s prime-time coverage.

And, to be sure, all of that was the right call. As Cooper accurately said, Tuesday was “an extraordinary moment in history.”

Trump became the first former president to face criminal charges. Manhattan prosecutors charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to an adult movie star prior to the 2016 presidential election.

This paragraph from The Associated Press’ Michael R. Sisak, Eric Tucker, Jennifer Peltz and Will Weissert perfectly explained what happened Tuesday, and what it all meant: “The arraignment in Manhattan, though largely procedural in nature, was nonetheless the first time in U.S. history that a former president has faced a judge in his own criminal prosecution. The indictment amounts to a remarkable reckoning for Trump after years of investigations into his personal, business and political dealings, unfolding against the backdrop not only of his third campaign for the White House but also against other investigations in Washington and Atlanta that might yet produce even more charges.”

As the coverage across the networks began, Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier said, “It’s going to be fascinating, and it is historic.”

Historic? Yes. Fascinating? That might be stretching it.

There were points of intrigue, flashes of activity, a few moments of significance. And, in between, it was all over the place. As The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin wrote, “The media coverage of former President Donald J. Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday could be summed up by the title of this year’s big Oscar winner: Everything, everywhere, all at once.”

But the coverage also brought out the most frustrating part of a big news story — filling time when little or nothing is happening. Suddenly, Trump riding in a car from his hotel to the courthouse was treated like a car chase from one of the “Fast and the Furious” movies. Viewers were subjected to lengthy shots of authorities milling around in court building hallways. Even brief glimpses of Trump walking to his car or through the hallways were treated like UFO sightings, with anchors interrupting guests to say, “There he is! There’s Donald Trump!”

Through it all, anchors and analysts had to fill time talking about where Trump might be waiting, what was going to happen next, what kind of mood Trump was in.

The Associated Press’ David Bauder wrote, “Hour after hour on Tuesday, the story occupied the full attention of broadcast and cable news networks. They waited for glimpses of Trump’s face to interpret his expression, followed his motorcade’s movements from the air, speculated on how it must feel to be arrested.”

Even Trump took to social media to call it “surreal.”

But at times, the day’s coverage turned from surreal to silly as news folks actually speculated on what Trump was feeling based simply on a still photograph from inside the courtroom.

Not that the networks had a choice. This is a huge story. It has to be covered. As Muir said, it’s “something we’ve never seen.”

But as longtime media columnist Margaret Sullivan tweeted, “Watching the sausage being made here.”

Because cameras weren’t allowed into the courtroom — and because the hearing lasted nearly an hour — there was plenty of time for networks to fill in a day full of time to fill.

As Bauder wrote, “That led to constant, mostly empty talk about what might happen. Will Trump’s motorcade to the court take Fifth Avenue or the FDR Drive? (The latter.) Will a mugshot of Trump be taken and released? (No.) Would the former president speak to the media before he goes into the court? (No.) After the hearing is done? (Also no.) CNN re-ran footage of Trump walking out of a doorway, a court officer declining to hold the door for him, and speculated about the last time something like this had happened to the former president.”

So the coverage was exhaustive, but it also was exhausting.

Even diehard news consumers and those of us whose job it is to watch such coverage (ahem) at some point must grow weary of it all.

Not that we have a choice. After all, it is a big story. It’s just a slow-moving story. For example, the next hearing is set for … Dec. 4. That leaves only eight months for networks to fill.

Other notable coverage of the Trump arraignment

A photo from CBS News’ live coverage of the Trump arraignment on Tuesday. (Courtesy: CBS News)

• Most clever line: CNN’s Van Jones said, “He’s gone from reality TV to reality. This is not ‘Judge Judy.’ This is real.”
• CNN also pointed out that Trump’s drive to court went through New York City streets that appeared normal, except the streets right near the courthouse. Jones said, “That’s our system. He’s going to court. A lot of people got up this morning and went to court. If you’re around the world, trying to make sense of this, this is America. Nobody is above the law. Nobody is beneath its protections. It’s not Russia. It’s not Iran.”
• Give CNN’s John Miller credit. Last week, he said Trump would face 34 charges. That turned out to be exactly right.
• Trump did not have to pose for a mugshot. But there was talk that Trump wanted a mugshot that he could then turn into a fundraising tool. Or that his people would create a fake mugshot. (Sure enough, that happened.) CNN’s Jake Tapper called it “otherworldly.” CNN’s Dana Bash said on air, “Otherworldly is the perfect way to put it. Maybe it’s a good time to put this in the context of American history and, frankly, human history. This is normally a time when somebody would feel shame, would feel fear, would feel trepidation. And maybe he is feeling that on the inside, but the political thing to do for most normal politicians — and this has happened throughout history in a time like this — would be to be more apologetic, to have less bravado, to be more contrite. And because this is Donald Trump, who has made an entire lifetime not just in politics but in business before that, (he does) the opposite and (leans) into his problems. … To say that is not normal is important context.”
• CNN’s Abby Phillip added that this isn’t the only legal trouble Trump is facing. She talked about trying to sell merchandise using a fake mugshot, saying, “Putting out merch might get them likes on Twitter, but it doesn’t help them with the broader problem.”
• About that fake mugshot, CBS News’ John Dickerson said, “There was no mugshot but they’ve created one in order to create a reality about an outlaw kind of candidate. That is a way in which the unreality of the circus, a person very skilled at creating his own reality, is bumping up with the real reality.”
• Fox News host and former Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy said on Fox News, “I mean, I think it’s kind of staggering that you can be accused of something that involves an adult film star and it not hurt you at all in a Republican primary. … If you had told me that you can pay off a Playmate and an adult film star and actually go up in the polling in a Republican primary, I would have told you you were crazy.”
• Speaking of Fox News, rumors that the network was bailing on Trump were greatly exaggerated. As The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona tweeted, “Watching today’s coverage and giggling at the thought that Fox News was ever going to turn its back on Trump as we approach 2024.” The network even resorted to making fun of the physical appearance of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. And they did it again here. Embarrassingly unprofessional, although unsurprising, from Jesse Watters.
• Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom. Longtime media reporter Brian Stelter tweeted, “The judge should have allowed a video camera into the courtroom for Trump’s arraignment. Transparency would have benefited everyone.”
• For those interested, here’s the actual indictment.
• Trump gave a low-energy, rambling, grievance-filled speech Tuesday night in Mar-a-Lago. The major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) did not air it. Fox News did. CNN did, too, for about 25 minutes or so, but then cut out and went back to the studio. Trump, however, only spoke for another minute or two after that. MSNBC acknowledged the speech but did not air it at all. Host Rachel Maddow told viewers, “There’s a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things. So, our deal with you is that we will monitor these remarks. If he does say anything newsworthy, we will turn them around and report on that right away.”
• Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene showed up in New York City to protest. It didn’t go well, as you can see her being drowned out by others. New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted to Greene, “Welcome to NYC!  Where there are still social consequences for shameless bigotry.” NBC News’ Antonio Planas, Ben Collins and Corky Siemaszko have more in “Trump loyalists such as Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos quickly flee chaotic protests.”
• The Washington Post’s Philip Bump with “Five takeaways from the Trump indictment in New York.”
• Also in the Post, Dan Balz with “Donald Trump, a tawdry case and a nation still mired in his chaos.”

Here’s the cover of Time magazine:

(Courtesy: Time)

Now onto non-Trump media news …

Calling it off

In what feels like a storyline straight out of the HBO show “Succession,” Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman reports that right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith have called off their wedding that was supposed to be this summer.

The two announced their engagement just a couple of weeks ago, with the 92-year-old Murdoch telling the New York Post’s Cindy Adams that when he proposed, “I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy.”

“But,” Sherman wrote, “less favorable headlines surfaced after the media began investigating Smith’s patchy biography.”

Check out Sherman’s story for more.

WHCA Awards

Who’s the best at covering the White House? Well, according to the White House Correspondents’ Association, it’s The Washington Post’s Matt Viser. The WHCA announced its annual awards this week and Viser was named winner of the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage.

Other winners included Reuters’ Jeff Mason for print coverage under deadline; CNN’s Phil Mattingly for broadcast coverage under deadline; The New York Times’ Doug Mills for news coverage for visual journalists; and Politico’s Josh Gerstein and Alex Ward won the “Katharine Graham Award for courage and accountability.”

Click on the link in this item for the judges’ comments and award-winning works.

Defending her taunter

In Tuesday’s newsletter, I mentioned the controversy involving trash-talking in women’s college basketball. LSU’s Angel Reese, who is Black, was criticized for taunting Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who is white and did a similar taunt (a “you-can’t-see-me” gesture) earlier in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and was not criticized. While many took the side that both players should be criticized, I went the opposite direction and felt neither should be judged for doing something (trash-talking) that is common in basketball.

Clark spoke about the whole thing on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.” And, not surprisingly, Clark sounded like exactly what she is — a basketball player.

Clark said, “I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all. No matter which way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I’m just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk. It’s not just me and Angel. I don’t think she should be criticized, like I said. LSU deserves it. They played so well. Like I said, I’m a big fan of hers.”

By the way, sportswriter and author Jeff Pearlman had this great tweet: “I’m pretty sure the ESPY producers are already planning that moment when @CaitlinClark22 and @Reese10Angel present an award together. Which would actually be really dope.”

Another dustup

The trash-talking wasn’t the only controversy to arise out of the women’s basketball championship. After LSU beat Clark’s Iowa, first lady Jill Biden said she wanted to honor both teams at the White House. Runners-up are never invited to the White House, and social media quickly pushed back on such an idea.

Harry Lyles Jr., appearing on ESPN’s “Around the Horn,” said, “I think it was very well-intentioned and I don’t think she should receive a lot of criticism for it. Obviously, she is happy with where the women’s game is at and I think we all are. But you cannot have a runner-up at the White House.”

Even Clark agreed, telling ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” “I don’t think runner-ups usually go to the White House. I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them. Congratulations, obviously, they deserve to go there. Maybe I can go to the White House on different terms, though.”

For what it’s worth, Biden is backing off the invitation to Iowa, it would appear. Vanessa Valdivia, the press secretary for the first lady, tweeted, “Her comments in Colorado were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder tweeted, “I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey. We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s ‘House’ — Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!”

Media tidbits

• The official viewership for the women’s college basketball national championship game between LSU and Iowa on ABC/ESPN was 9.2 million. That’s slightly lower than the original overnight numbers, but still a record for women’s college hoops.
• Meanwhile, Monday night’s men’s championship game — UConn defeated San Diego State — drew an average 14.693 million viewers on CBS. That’s the least-watched men’s championship game on record.
• The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent with “How Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘pedophile’ slur made it to ‘60 Minutes.’”
• For Nieman Reports, Jon Marcus with “Why Retired Journalists Are Jumping Back into the Profession.”
• The Los Angeles Times’ Stephen Battaglio with “She’s seen tragedy and trauma up close. Now Sara Sidner is CNN’s go-to in daytime.”
• The New York Times’ ​​Lydia DePillis with “Noncompete Clauses Get Tighter, and TV Newsrooms Feel the Grip.”

Hot type

• For ProPublica, Dan Schwartz and Topher Sanders, with additional reporting by Gabriel Sandoval and Danelle Morton and graphics by Haisam Hussein: “The True Dangers of Long Trains.”

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