Early on, even before he was the front-runner, TV news was giving Trump far more attention than other candidates and far more than he deserved.

TV news has largely given Trump editorial control.

My friends in the TV news business are in a state of despair about Donald Trump, even as their bosses in the boardroom are giddy over what he's doing for their once sagging ratings.

This must be such a relief for the TV executives managing a business in decline, suffering from a thousand cuts from social media and other new platforms. Trump arrived on the scene as a kind of manna from hell.

The 800-pound gorillas of TV news are gone. When I was the White House correspondent at NBC, and Tom Brokaw was anchor, the reporters were protected.

When candidates have asked me for support before, they have asked for more than a check.