Donald Trump's return to power is a hinge point for the American media – in ways big, small, and to be determined. His defeat of Kamala Harris is raising questions about the media's credibility, influence, and audience. Some of the questions might not be answerable for years. But this special edition of Reliable Sources is a (bleary-eyed!) attempt to raise them.
Let's start with the obvious: Trump loyalists are asserting that his win is a complete repudiation of the news media. The Federalist's lead headline this morning is not about Trump, it's about the "corporate media industrial complex" being "2024's biggest loser." Legacy media "is officially dead," The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh wrote overnight. "Their ability to set the narrative has been destroyed. Trump declared war on the media in 2016. Tonight he vanquished them completely. They will never be relevant again."
That's wishful thinking on Walsh's part – the marathon election coverage right now is a live testament to the media's relevance – but the point is that many Trump voters share his wish. They believe the national news media is a big part of what ails America. Not only do they distrust what they read, they often don't read it in the first place. Can anything be done to change that?
Charlotte Klein's recent New York magazine column quoting an anonymous TV exec is getting recirculated this morning. The exec said "if half the country has decided that Trump is qualified to be president, that means they're not reading any of this media, and we've lost this audience completely. A Trump victory means mainstream media is dead in its current form. And the question is what does it look like after."
|
Here's what Hadas Gold, Jon Passantino and I are wondering...
>> What does this "red wave" election say about the information environment in the United States?
>> Did news outlets do enough to counter Trump's "campaign of relentless lying," as Daniel Dale wrote, this year? Conversely, did the fact-checking backfire?
>> Is Jeff Bezos feeling justified in his decision to withhold the Washington Post's endorsement of Kamala Harris?
>> Will media outlets engage in self-censoring to appease Trump, and if so, how will readers and viewers who oppose Trump react to that?
>> Will there be another "Trump bump" of viewers and subscribers, or will the opposite happen?
>> Which pro-Trump channels and commentators will have the president's ear for the next four years?
>> Will the days of presidential sit-downs with network news anchors be pushed aside in favor of friendly chats with Joe Rogan?
>> Will the Trump administration turn his words against the press into actions? Will he move to revoke licenses for TV stations? Will he limit press access to the White House, barring reporters he doesn't like?
>> As Kristen Welker asked on NBC's overnight coverage, "Will he go after his political rivals, legally? What specifically does that look like?"
>> Will news organizations have the resources to defend against legal, digital and physical threats?
>> Assuming Lina Khan, the FTC chair, is out of a job soon, what will a more permissive regulatory environment mean for media and tech M&A?
>> Do major networks and publications have enough columnists and commentators who reflect the Trump majority's views?
>> Will new media brands emerge and earn credibility among Trump voters?
|
Early this morning I texted with a Trump campaign aide who I've known for years. We had been talking about the trust deficit that exists between the Trump base and the media. "Maybe we have a point," the aide remarked. "Maybe 'misinformation' is a lazy word that was never applied to press coverage of Biden's health or the border. Maybe 'offensive' things aren't offensive to most." Maybe, the aide added, some more humility is called for. |
|
|
Bomb threats, possibly traced to Russian actors, disrupted voting at some Georgia polling places. Long lines frustrated voters in swing states. But America's decentralized voting system worked as intended – and so did the media's systems for reviewing the vote-counts and making race projections. It was "error-free ball" all around – no embarrassing errors by the major networks, no mistaken projections or on-air meltdowns. The news coverage was precise and comprehensive.
At the end of Jake Tapper's nearly 12-hour broadcast, I asked him what the marathon was like. He replied at 3:56 a.m.: "It is one of the great honors of this job to push aside the polls and political prognostications and to hear from the voters. It's their country, their republic."
>> 🔌: Right now John Berman and Kasie Hunt are leading CNN's nonstop coverage. Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett are taking over at 10 a.m. Tapper and co. are coming back for "Election Night in America Continued" later today...
|
|
|
Stewart: The pundits 'will be wrong' |
Jon Stewart ended his live edition of "The Daily Show" with a note that we'd all do well to remember today. He said "we," meaning the political talking head class, are "going to come out of this election and we're going to make all kinds of pronouncements about what this country is and what this world is, and the truth is, we're not really going to know shit."
Whether America is a 50/50 country, or 52/48, we're basically just as divided as we were the day before the election. That's why I am feeling the same way CNN's Greg Krieg is: "Now's a good time to be skeptical of anyone saying Harris lost because of (this one thing)."
|
|
|
'Less clout every four years' |
The mainstream media "has held less clout every four years," Semafor's Dave Weigel wrote this morning. "On Harris-friendly cable news, ex-Republicans broadcast their horror at who Trump was and what he'd done; in the new social media and podcasts favored by Republicans, all of that was whining disconnected from what voters really cared about."
CNN political commentator Scott Jennings, who has been buzzed about as a possible Trump admin press secretary, hit this point hard during the 3 a.m. hour. He said Trump's win was "something of an indictment of the political information complex."
"We have been sitting around for the last couple weeks and the story that was portrayed was not true," Jennings said. "We were told Puerto Rico was going to change the election. Liz Cheney, Nikki Haley voters, women lying to their husbands. Before that it was Tim Walz and the camo hats. Night after night after night we were told all these things and gimmicks were going to somehow push Harris over the line. And we were just ignoring the fundamentals. Inflation; people feeling like they are barely able to tread water at best; those were the fundamentals of the election."
Jennings added: "I think for all of us who cover elections and talk about elections and do this on a day-to-day basis, we have to figure out how to understand talk to and listen to the half of the country that rose up tonight and said, 'We have had enough.'"
Liberal commentator Ashley Allison responded: "I think we have to listen to everybody, actually." She said "the people who voted for Kamala Harris are struggling too. They are feeling ignored too. A Republican's pain is no greater or less than a Democrat's pain."
|
|
|
During the general election campaign, Trump frequently railed against Fox News – despite the network's overwhelming support for him – and claimed that if he won, it would be in spite of Fox, not because of Fox. "STOP PUTTING ON THE ENEMY!" he shouted. And he complained directly to Rupert Murdoch about the network airing Democratic ads.
I say all that to remind us that Trump is never, ever satisfied with news coverage. He always wants a more pliant, propagandistic media. Trump's reelection portends a new period of hostility with major media outlets that strive for impartiality as well as partisan outlets that oppose him. In his victory speech in the 2 a.m. hour, he identified CNN and MSNBC as "the enemy camp" while praising VP-elect JD Vance for being willing to spar with interviewers...
|
|
|
New fears of democratic backsliding |
"America Hires a Strongman" is one of the top headlines on The New York Times website this morning. Lisa Lerer's analysis piece says "this was a conquering of the nation not by force but with a permission slip. Now, America stands on the precipice of an authoritarian style of governance never before seen in its 248-year history."
On the opinion side of the Times, M. Gessen wrote that "we may need to stop thinking about a country that’s split down the middle and start trying to understand this country as being dominated by Trumpian politics or, perhaps more accurately, a Trumpian affect."
Over on Threads, David French wrote that "when you look at American history, there are moments of progress, and there are periods of horrific backsliding. We're living in a moment of terrible backsliding, and it's our job to shorten the darkness." Maybe that's true, Jonathan V. Last responded, "but the other possibility is that America is transitioning away from liberal democracy and that this moment is less like 1880s America and more like 1990s Russia. Or early 2000s Hungary. It is a persistent feature of history that by the time most people understand that their country is passing into autocracy, it's too late for them to get out."
|
Reassurance and resignation |
This morning, newsroom leaders and owners are reassuring employees that they will have their backs in the uncertain months to come. "Now, more than ever, we are steadfast in our mission to uphold the principles of independent journalism," Conde Nast CEO Roger Lynch wrote in a memo to staffers. "A thriving, independent press, as protected by the First Amendment, is vital to democracy and the future we all share."
For some outlets, Trump's win is a fundraising opportunity. The Guardian's Katharine Viner has published a letter conveying "how the Guardian will stand up to four more years of Donald Trump" and urging readers to donate. At the same time, CJR's Jon Allsop notes the chatter among media types that "the heightened mass outrage and interest of Trump's first term" won't be repeated the second time around. "Exhaustion and apathy might reign instead..."
|
|
|
Elon Musk was obviously one of the biggest winners overnight. He spent election night at Mar-a-Lago, and when he wasn't schmoozing with Trump, he was busy sharing election-related memes on X. As NBC's David Ingram, Dan De Luce, and Laura Strickler noted yesterday, Musk stands to reap "massive rewards" with Trump returning to the White House. And this morning he already has: Tesla stock is up more than 12% right now. CNN's Chris Isidore has details here.
>> How will this election result reshape X? Will greater numbers of liberals and moderates leave the platform? The Atlantic's Charlie Warzel published a column yesterday calling X a "white supremacist site" and resolving to quit posting there...
|
|
|
Watch these pro-Trump power brokers |
Trump's comeback is also Tucker Carlson's comeback. On Tuesday night, Carlson's livestreaming network billed itself as "the only show broadcasting from Mar-a-Lago." During a three-hour show, Carlson talked with Musk, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sen. Mike Lee, David Sacks, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nigel Farage, Miranda Devine, Cliff Sims, and others, "from the library bar, underneath the portrait of Trump in tennis whites," Politico's Meridith McGraw reported. Trump's sons Don Jr. and Eric also stopped by the show.
At Trump's victory party, UFC chief Dana White gave shoutouts to some of the podcasters and YouTube stars who promoted Trump on their shows, specifically the Nelk Boys, Theo Von, Adin Ross, the "Bussin' with the Boys" podcast, and Joe Rogan. Rogan's profane celebration of Trump's win "is now going viral," Deadline notes.
>> "The Trump campaign's media strategy, which saw him shift more towards podcasters and away from the traditional media ecosystem, was questioned by some this campaign cycle but clearly worked," Semafor's Shelby Talcott wrote.
>> So much for Harris's celebrity endorsements, right? The Nelk Boys wrote on X, "To think they had Beyonce, Eminem, Lebron, Taylor Swift and so many others and they STILL lost. The people have spoken." Variety's Brent Lang wrote about Hollywood's shock, "hurt, and dismay."
|
|
|
Though the NYT's 600-person-strong Tech Guild walked off the job on Monday, sparking concerns from the publisher that its Election Needle would not work as projected, the Needle came through, harbingering shortly after its launch how the night would end. Opening early in the 8p hour — announced loudly by the Gray Lady via push notification — the Needle immediately began its slow shift to the right, complemented by the occasional comment from Nate Cohn, the Times’ chief political analyst.
>> "Dozens of New York Times tech workers have crossed the picket line since the Tech Guild went on strike Monday," Lucia Moses reports for Business Insider.
|
|
|
Trump revoked some reporters' access last night |
In the lead-up to election night, journalists from multiple news organizations were denied credentials to Trump's victory party "in retaliation for their coverage of Trump's campaign," Hadas Gold and Kristen Holmes reported. Reporters at Politico, Axios, Puck, and Voice of America were among those denied credentials. Some, like Politico, had been previously granted access to the Tuesday night event only to have the decision reversed. Details here...
|
|
|
>> Bret Baier when Fox News called Pennsylvania for Trump, putting the former president in striking distance of reaching 270: This is "going to be the biggest political 'Phoenix from the ashes' story that we have ever seen, ever."
>> Aaron Rupar wrote on his Substack: "Factors like a skewed media environment worked against Harris, but ultimately a majority of voters simply are buying what Trump is selling."
>> Liz Cheney just now: "Citizens across this country, our courts, members of the press and those serving in our federal, state and local governments must now be the guardrails of democracy."
>> David Axelrod to the aforementioned Scott Jennings on CNN: "It is the responsibility of people who supported" Trump "to hold him – as we should hold him – to the commitments that he made, to work on the problems of the American people, and to not indulge in the kind of craziness that we sometimes heard from him."
>> Senator turned NBC/MSNBC analyst Claire McCaskill posted: "It’s official. He knew America better than we did. We thought we were better than fear and anger driven by lies. We weren't."
|
|
|
>> Oliver Darcy wrote on Threads: "The post-2024 autopsy will not be kind to the American news media. At least in 2016, Trump and his tactics were new to the scene. This time around, not so much. Lessons that were learned over the Trump years were disregarded as he sought to regain power. And that warrants some hard questions."
>> Zaid Jilani tweeted: "A big part of the political punditry and reporting class needs to just be replaced. These people thought that a comedian telling a bad joke at a campaign rally was more important to million of Latino voters than wages and prices. They just live on a different planet. Not earth."
>> National Review exec editor Mark Antonio Wright blogged: "The biased and often embarrassing mainstream American press is not remotely 'decisive' in our elections."
>> Media critic Dan Kennedy wrote: "I got up early this morning after a restless night to see that our fears had become reality. There is no sugar-coating this. Democracy was on the ballot, and democracy lost. The rule of law is giving way to an era of authoritarianism."
>> The Atlantic's David Frum reacted to Trump's win by saying: "These past few months, my plan for 2025 was to retire from political journalism. Seems I'll have to make new plans."
|
|
|
>> Samir Shah, the BBC’s chair, said the broadcaster's system of renewing its “royal charter every 10 years is 'really odd' and should be scrapped," Ian Youngs and David Sillito report. (BBC)
>> iHeartMedia "is letting go of less than 5% of its workforce, which is currently around 10,000 employees” that are meant to “eliminate redundancies and streamline the business," Caitlin Huston reports. (THR)
>> “Prosecutors and police investigators focused on tax fraud and corruption raided Netflix offices in Paris and Amsterdam on Tuesday as part of an ongoing probe into alleged financial wrongdoing,” Etan Vlessing reports. (THR)
>> "Amid a pullback in TV spending," unscripted production companies Fulwell 73 and SpringHill Co. "are in talks to combine forces," Todd Spangler and Brian Steinberg report. (Variety)
>> Scott Mendelson notes Hollywood is pivoting away from the “all-quadrant megaprojects based on supersized I.P.” and toward “mid-budget titles pulling solid but not spectacular global grosses.” (Puck)
|
|
|
|
® © 2024 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.
1050 Techwood Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
