A cable-news-obsessed president turned TV journalists into household names. A nationwide reckoning on sexual harassment ended the careers of some of television’s best-known personalities. And Americans, seeking clarity amid the noise, turned to networks like Fox News and MSNBC in record numbers. Two New York Times media reporters analyze 2017, the year when TV roared back.

Michael M. Grynbaum: President Trump ended his final interview of the year by warning that “newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I’m not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes.” He’s not wrong! This was supposed to be the Age of Snapchat, but TV was so central to the cultural politics of 2017. The 9 p.m. ratings race between Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity felt like a proxy war for the country.

John Koblin: Let’s keep in mind that just two and a half years ago, cable news was a dying genre. And the late-night comedy shows were nothing more than a factory for two-minute YouTube clips. And now? We have TV fights and rivalries that feel every bit as relevant as they did in the 1990s. This is the year Stephen Colbert beat Jimmy Fallon thanks to politics, the year Jimmy Kimmel finally became relevant, because of health care. Even Trevor Noah has some juice!

Michael: TV was a gathering ground for the #resist left; heck, MSNBC won weeknights in the all-important 25-to-54 age demographic for the first time in 17 years. But Fox News ended the year at No. 1, even as it resurrected throwbacks like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, a sign that audiences were more turned on by ideology than by personality.