By every metric, Donald Trump owned the news cycle in 2015.

He was the most coveted interview of the campaign, and news organizations tripped over one another to book him on their shows. He received vastly more coverage on network and cable news than all of his competitors, gave more interviews, was the subject of more profiles, and had more mentions in print and online. And whenever one of his competitors threatened to steal the spotlight, Trump quickly wrested it back with an outrageous comment, biting attack, or divisive policy proposal.

While the media gave Trump a seemingly unlimited amount of oxygen, it was the candidate himself who had earned it — because he was a celebrity, because he was a political phenomenon, because he drove ratings. And he had an uncanny, almost instinctual, feel for what news networks and their audiences wanted.

“Donald Trump understands a show business maxim, which is that people like twists in a plot,” said Frank Rich, the New York Magazine columnist and co-executive producer of HBO’s “Veep.”