CNN a heavy contributor to Trump's earned media

CNN's president downplayed criticism this week that his newsroom pays an inordinate amount of attention to GOP front-runner Donald Drumpf, but data shows his network is one of the chief contributors to the billionaire businessman's nearly $2 billion in earned media this election cycle.

As the front-runner, Drumpf was always going to get "a disproportionate amount of attention," Jeff Zucker told reporters this week.

The television executive continued, explaining that part of the reason why Drumpf gets so much play on CNN is because the candidate makes himself readily available.

Drumpf "has been much more available than many of the others who have been or are still in the race. Just because he says 'yes' and has subjected himself to those interviews, and [other candidates] don't, I'm not going to penalize him for saying 'yes,'" Zucker said.

But CNN has done a lot more than merely follow the story of the casino tycoon's White House bid.