1 - Does old school media stick matter? How much?
2 - Do debates still matter? Old school media love them, but other than them, who else cares?
Unfortunately, I believe that old school media still matters.
Old school media targets 50 to 65 year old women
On Election Day, a higher percentage of women vote than men. Also the highest participation rate is in the 50 to 70 age group. That is exactly who mostly watches TV, so old school media still matters.
As long as TV stays relevant for older women, TV will remain relevant
Of course, they know that, so the result is that TV is becoming more and more terrible to watch every day (unless you are in that gender and age bracket).