Webster defines womp as "an abrupt increase in the illumination of a television screen resulting from an abrupt increase in signal strength," which is exactly what Corey Lewandowski's snide remark on Fox News appears to have done this week.

That's what political media-buying and advertising operatives at ad agencies involved in the 2016 midterm elections campaigns said when digital advertising and media-buying technology firm Centro surveyed them about their views on political media campaigns recently. "When we asked what would be the most promising developments for digital campaigns this year, more than half of respondents selected 'audience data that is higher quality and more readily available'," says Grace Briscoe, vice president-candidates and causes at Centro and author of a new report, "The Digital Media Trends Political Marketers are Watching in 2018."

After 500-plus days of a news consumption high, it looks like Americans are just plain worn out. Especially the Republican kind. According to findings of a nationwide study conducted by the Pew Research Center, more than two-thirds (68%) of U.S. adults report they are "worn out" by the amount of news coverage. Interestingly, the study finds Republicans report being dramatically more worn out (77%) vs. Democrats (61%).

One of the most surreal parts about this surreal period in American history for me is the outsized importance Nielsen ratings have had as a barometer of political success. It is the thing that most makes me feel like we are all part of a tail-wagging-a-dog scripted reality TV show: "The Trump Presidency."

At a time when certain local broadcasters are becoming more aggressive in their political advocacy (think Sinclair Broadcasting), more Americans say they trust their local TV news outlets by a margin of two-to-one over national sources of news. The finding, which comes from the just-released 2018 edition of a bi-annual survey by Washington, D.C-based agency Rad Campaign and analytics firm Lincoln Park Strategies, indicates that two-thirds of Americans trust local TV news vs. only 35% who say they trust the next most trusted news source: national evening news.

From the Arab Spring to Russia's hacking of America's Fall 2016 elections, technology -- especially automation -- has been a disruptive political force. But what role is it playing in the disruption of the workforce that may or may not undermine democracy? That was the motion postulated by Intelligence Square U.S. during a debate this week. Based on the outcome of Monday's discussion, the the jury was still out among the live audience participants in New York City, but a decisive majority of online observers believe that will indeed be the case.

In his latest attack on America's free press, President Donald Trump this morning threatened to take "press credentials" away from the news outlets he deems "fake news." How many news outlets would that impact? Depends on how Trump defines fake news, but by his own estimate, "91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake)," which presumably means only Fox News would be credentialed.

Political affiliation, more than wealth, religion, ethnicity, gender or any other attribute, is the No. 1 factor dividing society, according to a multinational survey conducted by Ipsos MORI for the BBC. The study, "A World Divided," found differences in political views are perceived as being the greatest cause of tension between people by a wide margin (44% vs. the next closest factor, wealth's 36%). That's the global average among more than 19,00 adults surveyed in 27 countries, but in the U.S. the divisive nature of politics was cited as the No. factor by a majority of respondents (53%).

Seventy-one percent of the world's top journalists believe the public has "lost trust" in them -- but that's a significant improvement from a year ago, when the percentage was 91% among journalists responding to Cision's annual "State of the Media" survey. As positive as the trend line may seem, the perception continues to be overwhelmingly negative for a profession that fundamentally relies on people's trust and confidence in their craft -- especially in the U.S., which continues to have the greatest level of cynicism among journalists. Many factors have contributed to the lowering of journalists' esteem, especially the role of ...

A story published Tuesday by Russia's English-language news service Sputnik featured a simulation of what a nuclear explosion next to Trump's house -- you know, the white one in Washington, DC -- might look like.