In the final days of Trump, it’s important to keep an ear to the ground

Keeping on top of how America’s news networks respond to riots and impeachment has become more important than ever before, writes Clémence Michallon

Donald Trump’s insurrection was live on TV (Getty)

When a deadly insurrection broke out last week at the US Capitol, I was in the middle of a shift, attempting to cover the latest culture-related news in the US. Footage of rioters storming the building and breaking windows started surfacing on social media. I turned to my husband and asked him a question that only surfaces three to four times a year at most: “Should we put the TV on?”

Like most millennials, I watch very little live television. Ninety per cent of the time, the set in our living room serves as a relay for streaming platforms – because Bridgerton deserves to be enjoyed on something larger than a laptop screen. Pre-pandemic, when I still worked in a newsroom, at least one cable network would be on at all times, providing live coverage of the day’s developments. Since I started working from home almost a year ago, that has changed. The TV only comes on for major, history-defining news events (which, in 2020, and now 2021, still happen more often than average).

When the Jacob K Javits Convention Center was turned into a temporary hospital for Covid patients in April, the TV was on. When massive protests broke out across the US against systemic racism and police brutality in June, the TV was on. When the presidential election was called for Joe Biden, the TV was on. When Donald Trump loyalists stormed the seat of the legislative branch of the US government, the TV was on too. And when the House voted to impeach that same president for the second time last night? Of course, the TV was on as well.