'Americans love a big, strong leading man,' veteran journalist, Dan Rather, who's  covered 11 presidencies in his time as a reporter, tells a packed room at SXSW. Donald Trump's political campaign is no love story, but his unexpected success in the quest to win the presidency has all the tension of a gripping work of fiction.

Trump's most important relationship is with the media, Rather explains, and says the journalists that are writing the narrative have buckled under the weight of celebrity appeal.

'Media has a lot to answer for. Journalists aren't asking the tough questions,' Rather says. 'No one has asked him about Afghanistan.' Reporters don't appear to be digging around to find out who is contributing funds to this election campaign and what the motivation is. The campaign is estimated to cost more than $5 billion and Rather suggests there are 'lots of deep pockets filled with dark money' going to candidates on both sides. Journalists love to ask hard questions and they're not holding their tongues out of fear or inability. According to Rather: 'Trump doesn't come on your channel again if you ask the tough questions.' This is what Rather calls 'The Access trap'. It presents a challenge for media outlets because Trump is the ultimate ratings engine.

In fact, he's a visual clickbait dream.  'You get a bigger response for Trump than you do for Hilary,' Rather points out. When networks and publishers use popular content and its potential virality as their primary motivation, they feed Trump's campaign. If the general election becomes a two-horse race between Trump and Clinton the dual will be 'nasty enough to gag a buzzard,' Rather quips.

Amanda Wills, deputy executive editor at Mashable, tells Rather that journalists and editors struggle with media models that prioritise popularity. Rather argues that if we loose the art of seeking out news that the public needs to hear, we fail to hold those in power to account. In the case of Trump, that could be dangerous. Rather pushes for the public to demand quality reporting. But the reality is that they vote with their fingers by withholding clicks to articles designed to drive traffic instead of informing.

No one knows how the story will end, but there's no doubt that when the media treats Trump as good content, it helps to steer the plot.

Nicole Haddow @nicolehaddow