Our media consumption influences our beliefs, and there’s no question who’s winning the media primary so far this cycle. Since Mr. Trump announced his candidacy, both local and national news networks have mentioned him almost half of the time they mentioned any Republican candidate. As for Internet coverage, he is a meme just by being himself.

Mr. Trump’s success thus far might signal that campaigning from the green room (and from your Twitter feed) may be a more effective strategy than grueling retail politicking in early primary states. Mr. Trump has spent roughly the same amount of money in Iowa as Senator Rand Paul has, yet Mr. Paul is lagging in the polls, while Mr. Trump has been the front-runner in the state for most of the past four months. And in New Hampshire, the other first-in-the-nation state, Mr. Trump stands roughly 15 points ahead of the runner-up, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

This trend has led some to fret that Mr. Trump is setting a bad precedent for future elections. “The lesson for future candidates will be, I don’t need to troop all over Grafton County in the north country,” one New Hampshire G.O.P. activist lamented to Politico. “I just need to hang out in a cable TV green room and wait for my next cable hit.”