Rumors are growing that it may be time to put traditional media purveyors back on tap.
Much of the presidential campaign was conducted on television. But television, like print, is being dismissed as old news, a relic of horse-drawn carriages, the last dinosaur on earth.
Here's a story where podcasts and digital media are hot new players, candidates publish all kinds of news on these outlets, and they're more interesting than organizations built around actual journalism. This is the main point. All true. I'm a podcaster myself. This is a free-spirited forum.
But a phrase circulating in conservative circles is: “You are now the media.”
Trump ignores media expectations and nominates Capitol Hill veterans such as Marco Rubio
President-elect Donald Trump and Joe Rogan next to each other. (Getty Images)
And what that means is that anyone can have a say. The average person can start a Substack page, blog, or podcast and build a following. The public can make their voices heard on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and X. Corporate barbarians no longer control the gates.
And this is healthy. It sparks a national conversation and allows unconventional and unconventional ideas to spread. For example, COVID-19 lockdowns weren't such a great idea, Hunter Biden's laptop wasn't Russian disinformation, etc.
In his pitch to X, Elon Musk embraced the concept: “Hey guys, there's something wrong with news organizations. Journalism is dead. What the hell is going on? It's weird.”
But the mirror image of everyone being media is that everyone has to become a media consumer. As we all know, the online world is full of vitriolic theories and conspiracy theories. It's up to each person to filter it out or not, and stay in a cocoon that reinforces their own opinions.
Why did the media wait until now to admit that Harris ran a poor campaign?
This is especially true in the Trump administration, given President Trump's attacks on “fake news” and fundamental disagreements over basic facts. Despite the president-elect's stunning victory, the country remains deeply divided, with two diametrically opposed views of reality.
Charlie Worzel atlantic ocean Wisely writes about this:
“While media institutions have somehow failed to respond to this period, it has also been unclear whether they still have any meaningful power to shape outcomes.
Elon Musk speaks at Mark in “Exploring New Frontiers of Innovation: A Conversation with Elon Musk” at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2024 – Day 3 on June 19, 2024 in Cannes, France・Attended the “Lead” session. (Mark Piasecki/Getty Images)
“Over the past two years, traffic across all news sites has plummeted, in part due to technology companies and their algorithm changes, which have made it difficult for people to see articles when using products like Google Search and Facebook. ” and are less likely to click.
But Worzel said, “Audiences are also starting to break away from the news. There's an influencer economy emerging on social media platforms. It's not an ecosystem that produces a lot of original coverage, but it feels authentic to viewers.” “I'm going to be able to do it,” he says.
However, traditional media obituaries are premature. Sure, Trump spending three hours with Joe Rogan and Kamala Harris appearing on “Call Her Daddy” was a great idea.
Media liberals attack Kamala as experienced hardliner becomes Trump's candidate
But as Ms. Harris spent a month hiding from the media, pressure mounted on her to do sit-down television interviews. She eventually co-starred with CNN's Dana Bash.
Another big event was the vice president's controversial interview with Fox's Bret Bayer.
Meanwhile, leaks about President Trump's appointees have been directed primarily at major newspapers and cable networks.
Harris' interview with “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier drew a staggering 9.2 million total viewers, making it the most-watched non-prime-time interview in cable news history. (Fox News Channel)
The so-called “traditional” news organizations, which by the way all have major websites, do not only report but also provide commentary. Despite all its shortcomings, journalism is slow because it takes time and mistakes are shameful. And even people who don't trust these news organizations will quote them when it's politically expedient to say, “Even the New York Times says…”
In fact, while Trump uses Truth Social and self-posted videos, he cares more about legacy media than anyone else. He talks to reporters virtually every day, even ones he doesn't like, and monitors TV and newspaper reporting so he can push back against anything he deems inaccurate or unfair. And as the campaign showed, he was indifferent to the avalanche of negative press, and the consistent glowing coverage of Kamala ultimately didn't help her.
Newspapers, largely abandoned by young people staring at their phones, are also affected by echo chambers. The New York Times recently reported that Justice Department lawyers are concerned about President Trump's purge. This story was covered all day on cable.
Worzel said: “Independent online creators don’t suffer from these messy questions of objectivity and standards. They publish as much as possible in order to develop an audience and build relationships with them. For them, posting is important. It's also about creators posting their ideas in public so that they get it figured out later, and people eventually forget about it. is.”
The old-fashioned run-and-gun approach.
So I don't buy the idea that traditional journalism, especially news outlets that do investigative reporting, are being washed away. They still play a pretty central role, which is why campaigns spent hundreds of millions of dollars on TV ads.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
But it could also be a sign that Chris Wallace, whose three-year contract at CNN is up, is leaving to start a podcast.
My conclusion is that those of us in the news industry now have to share the microphone with millions of other voices. But it doesn't make you sleepless.
