It is abundantly clear that Trump's handling of the MSM is the only viable strategy

The veil if impartiality has been lifted, everyone knows the outlets are not only in the tank for Leftists, they are actively colluding with them to peddle conspiracy theories and propaganda. Even for you NeverTrumpers, this is the same industry that sullied squeaky clean Mitt Romney for rustling a classmate's hair in fourth grade and referring to a binder full of women.

You cannot play nice and you cannot play fair, as they operate with zero ethics and are willing to cover for one another to keep the operation running. The rule book of the past needs to be shredded and burned. You cannot capitulate to them, you cannot give them an inch, you have to fight back. Absorbing their punches is impossible, given the saturation they are able to make on a given subject.

You have to go on the offensive. You have to attack their credibility. You have to circumvent their ability to twist and frame messaging to the masses. That is where Trump has harnessed the simplest, yet powerful tool: the Twitter account. They have to cover what he says because no matter what it is, they will attempt to spin it negatively. But sometimes it is the mere breaching of a subject that is a win for him (i.e. Obama's involvement with Russians shifted the narrative, albeit momentarily).