Chuck Todd guest hosts today’s Politico Playbook, complaining about republicans refusing to go on Sunday shows. He sounds like a dinosaur complaining that all the foliage is dying, not noticing the massive ash cloud that’s blocked out the sun.

What he’s missing is that Sunday shows (or mainstream media in general) are no longer the best way for politicians to get messages to their voters or, more importantly to him, shape any narratives or coverage.

This is probably true on the left as well, but is especially true on the right who think non-Fox elite national media is stacked against them, and there are multiple other sources of info (and disinfo) that cater to their preferences and biases.

Further, every show in the Trump era turns into an attempt to bait criticism of him, and that’s a losing proposition for most GOP members. What’s the point of doing TV if your message just falls flat? Better to spend time in your own echo chamber.

I’m not a fan of what I’m describing above - it’s not a good situation for governance where there’s not even a conversation on the same level about the problems. But the fact Todd misses this is revealing about what the press can’t see.