All opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the contributors.
The Washington Post lost over 10% of its paid subscription base after owner Jeff Bezos vetoed the editorial board’s presidential endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris. MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program lost one-quarter of its audience after news got out that the show’s hosts had traveled to Mar-a-Lago following President-elect Trump’s victory to privately discuss a “resetting of communications” between the future president and left-leaning journalists. Between one-quarter and one-half of all CNN and MSNBC viewers tuned out after the November 2024 elections overall.
Meanwhile, over one-fifth of U.S. adults now report that they regularly receive their news from “news influencers” on social media, even though a majority of online influencers don’t verify their information before sharing or publishing.
Watch the video above as Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman reviews what he says is happening in this new age of independent media and what he thinks these developments might indicate for the future of news and information.
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The following is an excerpt from the above video:
There does seem to be an exodus happening from corporate news media where people are tired and disillusioned, but more importantly, they’re realizing, “I don’t know that corporate media is where the truth lives in general anymore.” And this is making me feel like actually, we’re doing well, and people seem to be realizing it is independent media where the future is now. I’m not saying anything particularly groundbreaking here, because we’ve seen for a while that the networks seem unsure as to what is the right way forward for us. They want to access power rather than challenge it. We saw it with Joe and Mika’s “Morning Joe” pilgrimage down to Mar-a-Lago. But more people seem to be catching on that the shiny graphics and that there’s a logo that spins and says “live” and “breaking news,” it doesn’t necessarily mean that what you really want are corporate media pundits recycling the same talking points 24/7. That seems to be losing its grip.
The good news is here that lot of those viewers, I believe, are going to come to us in independent media, rather than go back to cable. They’re going to come to creators who aren’t beholden to corporate sponsors or dictated by party lines, where they can say, or I can say, “Hey, here’s where I agree with one side or the other, or they’re both lying to you,” or whatever the case may be. That is different than just, “I’m taking a break from CNN, and Jan. 20 I’m going right back to it.” It’s more than a temporary ratings dip, and it’s part of this longer-term trend where the gatekeepers of old-school media aren’t as relevant anymore. And I think that overall, this is a very good thing.
