I wrote recently of the media triage that has happened since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office for his rightful second term.
Donald Trump: ‘I never knew how dishonest the media was.’ pic.twitter.com/wgnOhLW2TU
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) November 29, 2024
WaPo’s Ruth Op Ed Editor, Ruth Marcus resigned unceremoniously, as former anti-Trumper Jeff Bezos apparently now understands how the real world works.
CNN jettisoned Jim Acosta equally unceremoniously, banishing him to a 12A host spot, aka purgatory for news and about anything else. Chris Wallace joined Acosta in departing CNN, and CBS decided that Norah O’Donnell should pursue other opportunities. And there were many more including the old guards, Andrea Mitchell and Lester Holt.
As if that wasn’t enough, 538 is gone, as is the entire NYT editorial board. Newsweek described the new media landscape under President Trump:
President Donald Trump and America’s traditional news media have long had an adversarial relationship.
But in recent weeks, Trump and his administration ramped things up a notch: punishing an outlet for its editorial decisions, attacking reporters by name, and removing without explanation video from an online archive used by media organizations to cover January 6.
One senior press executive alleged the First Amendment had been broken, while media analysts told Newsweek the acts were attempts to “force the media into compliance,” rewrite history, and could have a “chilling effect and lead to some self-censorship.”
Force media outlets into compliance? More like force media outlets into telling the truth.
The article continues,
Adam Penenberg, a journalism professor at New York University, told Newsweek: “News organizations are facing unprecedented external pressure, but the real test is how they respond. Will they bend to power out of fear? Or will they do their jobs and hold this administration accountable?”
Such spikiness from Trump is not out of nowhere. He has long criticized liberal bias in the media, which has been losing Americans’ trust while battling flaws in its business model.
One free speech lawyer told Newsweek the new Trump White House should also be praised for helping rebalance coverage by giving more access to less traditional and more Trump-friendly media outlets.
“To the extent President Trump’s White House is newly affording access to reporters that haven’t had it in the past, and that may represent outlets that align with his views, that’s great. It’s a more-speech, more-transparent approach,” First Amendment attorney Alex Morey, the vice president of campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), said.
I agree with the lawyer who praised President Trump for his take on allowing new media into his briefings.
Outlets have documented the changes in perception of media since Donald Trump called them “fake news”. And while he wounded them deeply over the years, the damage inflicted recently amounts to a kill shot.
Where the Butler, PA assassin missed candidate Trump, the media hasn’t been so lucky. Almost daily we get reports of shrinking ratings or a media outlet about to go belly up. Some outlets have seen the writing on the wall, and along with cutting the bombastic aforementioned blowhards, these outlets have also taken a good look at their lineups.
CNN has created a media sensation in Scott Jennings. As big names like Rachel Maddow take pay cuts, Jennings is rumored to have gotten a fat raise. I predict he may have a show of his own soon. What a move that would be for CNN to actually employ a host with common sense.
Non-traditional conservative media outlets have gained a significant foothold recently, as Newsmax bolsters it’s offering with bigger names. Real America’s Voice and OAN compete in the same space, sadly all doing the same formulaic programming. Still, they all steal market share from the traditional fake news outlets, at least for now.
Fox News remains the 400-pound gorilla, but I see a massive change coming for media over the next 5 years. And it won’t be good for the establishment media.
