I don't think he really stands a chance in the 2016 election. The article says that Obama was still pretty small back when he started his campaign, but I at least heard about him regularly on the news and stuff. Right now, if you go to CNN, Fox or ABC, it's all Jeb Bush vs. Hillary Clinton. They might bring him up on occasion, but it's really only about those two. The only place I hear about Sanders in on Reddit and a couple other sites. Outside of that, there's just silence. If you ask a lot of 18 - 24 year-olds, they've heard about him. However, they're not the ones voting. (That demographic)[https://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p20-573.pdf] had a turn-out of 38% in the 2012 election, and have had the lowest turn out since 1964. It's not the young people voting, it's the older crowd. They probably haven't even heard of Sanders. Even if they did, they wouldn't like his progressive stances on everything. Plus, they'd feel safer voting for someone that was either the son or wife of a former president than someone they've never even heard of. It's a shame, but he just doesn't have the backing. If this next administration is bad, maybe the more independent canidates will look more appealing, and he will have a better chance in the 2020 election. As for 2016, it's either going to be another Clinton or Bush.
I think the reason why major news outlets are giving him the minimum amount of coverage is because they are the people that won't benefit from him. It is just a thought I may be onto something but at the same time I may be off by a long shot. Referring to the fact that the younger populous are not voting is something that we really need to change. The older crowd mainly the Republicans think it is great that young voter participation is at an all-time low. Then you have people claiming that they won't vote to "send a message", when in fact they are just helping those that they are opposed to. We need to inform people that in order to induce change in this country you need to participate whether or not you are a fan of the current regime.
It's not just about turnout for the 2012 election, it's about turnout for the primary. And young people turnout for primaries in even lower numbers, as do all voters across the board. It's why "establishment" candidates usually get the nomination. That is also why Sanders might have a chance. In doesn't matter if CNN, ABC, and especially FOX aren't talking about him, because so few people vote in the primary. And those who do are way more invested in politics than the general public. They have almost certainly heard of him and know what he stands for. And if he gets the nomination, well, of course all the news outlets will start talking about him.