A New York Times report highlighted that Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's “mammoth advantage in free media” coverage over potentially “any candidate ever,” may be part of the reason “he wins primary after primary with one of the smallest campaign budgets.”

Trump has dominated the news cycle for months. A Media Matters report found that Fox News in particular has given Trump nearly $30 million in free airtime since the launch of his presidential bid. Broadcast news outlets have received criticism for Trump's “unprecedented” access via phone interviews.

The New York Times reported on March 15 that part of the reason Trump “wins primary after primary with one of the smallest campaign budgets” is that he “dominates” earned media -- which includes “news and commentary about his campaign on television, in newspapers and magazines, and on social media” -- giving him a “mammoth advantage” over other candidates. According to The Times' report, Trump far outpaces other presidential candidates in free media coverage, noting that in February “he earned as much media as [Ted] Cruz and [Hillary] Clinton combined” :