Good morning! Today's newsletter takes stock of what journalists are saying and wondering in the wake of Donald Trump's reelection... |
Brandon Bell/Getty Images |
A Reliable Sources reader named Mark wrote in yesterday to say that "many of those in the political middle, such as myself, have come to realize how out of touch the MSM (mainstream media) has grown."
As Donald Trump gained support and glided toward a decisive victory, the media missed it, Mark asserted: "What was happening, right under their nose, went right past them!"
Whether you think that's true or false, it's worth taking seriously, because this sort of critique is driving the post-election discourse. Here's what I keep hearing: The news media writ large cared about A, B and C while swing voters cared about X, Y and Z.
I'm going to quote several people anonymously for the same reason that political reporters quote campaign strategists anonymously – because the sources are willing to be a whole lot more candid without their names attached.
"Too much of MSM missed the mood of America," a former news executive with decades of experience told me. Many of the national media's decision-makers truly do live in a "bubble," one or two tax brackets removed from readers and viewers, and "it all contributes what they see and don’t see about America," the exec said.
To be clear, the pro-Trump figures who lecture the press about various failings tend to be economically advantaged, too. And it's hard to argue that economic concerns were overlooked in this year's news coverage. But maybe there wasn't a sufficient recognition that, as The Atlantic's Annie Lowrey's put it, "Voters Wanted Lower Prices at Any Cost."
Some writers are looking back and saying, as EJ Dionne Jr. did yesterday, "the truth is I missed the signals and frustrations that were in plain sight." Is that because the boldface names of American news couldn't relate to the cost-of-living complaints and immigration fears that fueled Trump's victory?
"Most of the expert pundits and columnists don't know and talk to people who are angry that inflation has made it harder for them to feed their family or save for college or deal with emergencies or pay their small business employees more," the veteran exec asserted.
I have heard similar critiques from editors, anchors and commentators in the past two days. As one anchor texted to me, the media class speculated about the "Trump amnesia" phenomenon – the tendency for Americans to forget about the chaos and Covid missteps of his first term – but "voters DID remember. They just remembered different parts of the Trump presidency."
As the veteran exec put it, we all need to recognize that "unconscious bias has an impact, when your values and status in life is so different than the majority of Americans."
|
'A national repudiation of what we do' |
Lots of journalists feel like the WSJ's Vivian Salama, who covered Trump's victory night event in Palm Beach and wrote on Instagram, "I believe what we do as journalists is important and consequential work, and I recognize the enormous responsibility that comes with this job. Onward." That's the spirit!
But there is also an undercurrent of doubt and disillusionment in group texts and private conversations. It is "hard not to see this election as just a national repudiation of what we do," a radio journalist remarked to me. "We spent four years reporting so aggressively" on subjects like election denialism and the fallout from the January 6 attack – and many voters evidently didn't care.
This journalist pointed to the exit poll data "showing Harris losing ground to Biden in just about every demographic group... with the exception of the exact demographics the mainstream media lives, works and socializes in."
Yesterday, I noted concerns that some DC journalists don't want to sign up for another four years of Trump chaos coverage. "It's not just DC," an acclaimed local TV reporter told me. "I've been thinking about what other options are out there," they said, because "why stick around when people don't know the difference between NBC4 and NBC? The demonization of the media will continue; major news companies are in debt or looking at cost cuts; the money is not good nor has it ever been... So why be attached to a news brand if influencers are doing better and even gaining incredible access on their own YouTube channels or TikToks?"
|
ProPublica senior editor Jesse Eisinger rallied his staff earlier this week by telling them the following: "We face the biggest test of our professional lives. Now we get to see if we really meant it when we said we will hold power to account. Will we do so when our subjects have true power on their side and a willingness to use it? We may be harassed. We may be sued. We may be threatened with violence. We may be ignored. Are we just sunshine journalists or are we ready?"
|
|
|
'Death by a thousand cuts' |
Hadas Gold writes: Experts on authoritarian leadership in Europe say that in a second term, enabled by more loyalists and fewer guardrails around him, Trump could do extensive damage to press freedom in the United States. A look at some countries in Europe where democracy is "backsliding" portends how it can happen.
"It's death by a thousand cuts. It's attacks from multiple angles," Sharon Moshavi, president of the International Center for Journalists, explained. Those angles include attacking journalists, discrediting their reporting, applying pressure on media owners to induce self-censorship, launching legal challenges, and leveraging wealthy allies to buy up media outlets to turn them into government mouthpieces. Read on...
>> "As I type, nonprofit newsrooms are gathering to understand whether tax law could be used to intimidate or even shut down independent media, as has occurred overseas," Columbia Journalism Review editor Sewell Chan reports in this new letter to readers...
|
Accountability over 'resistance' |
The Information's Jessica Lessin woke up the morning after the election and wrote this: "I implore every editor and journalist—many of whom have a right to be fearful for the state of the free press under Trump's next presidency—to choose accountability over resistance. Trust from the public in what we do depends on it." CJR's Jon Allsop responded with a column "In defense of 'resistance'" yesterday...
|
|
|
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images/File |
"Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale,' a novel set in a totalitarian society, has shot to the top of Amazon’s bestselling books list following Donald Trump’s reelection," CNN's Erika Tulfo wrote yesterday.
A check of Amazon's "Movers and Shakers" list is even more revealing: Maria Ressa's "How to Stand Up to a Dictator" is #1 this morning, and "Handmaid's Tale," "Animal Farm," "Brave New World," and the Laura Bates book "Men Who Hate Women" are all in the top 50.
|
|
|
It's all about the trust deficit |
We may be in a phase where people read too much into the election results, of course. Last night, MSNBC's Chris Hayes said "America didn't give itself over to Trumpism." Instead, a small subset did: "We got this outcome because three out of a hundred people switched their votes." Technically true. But Trumpism wasn't thoroughly defeated the way many MSNBC viewers imagined it could be.
The "trust deficit" has a lot to do with this. Wake Up to Politics writer Gabe Fleisher calls America's trust divide "a skeleton key that explains the 2024 result," and I wholeheartedly agree. Groups of voters that have the lowest amount of trust in the media and other institutions "are the groups that swung the most towards Trump," Fleisher wrote. "Trump targeted his appeals to them, using the information environments they frequent, and promised to shake up the status quo..."
|
|
|
Progressive outlets make appeals |
Liam Reilly writes: Left-leaning news publishers are reassuring readers and appealing for paid subscribers in the wake of Trump's win. The message: We will remain fearless in the face of a second Trump term, but we need your financial support to do so. For instance: "Our nonprofit newsroom is built for the chaos and uncertainty ahead," a banner atop the Mother Jones home page says. "Depend on it, and please stand with us."
>> Slate says the messaging is working: "The day after the election, we saw 7x more subscription sign-ups" than an average day, a spokesperson says...
>> I'm still skeptical that a big "Trump bump" will happen this time around, but Grzegorz Piechota of the International News Media Association convened a subscriber acquisition master class yesterday, and 21% of the attendees said they've seen an election-related spike in subscription sales...
|
|
|
"Given the widespread public concern that media outlets may be tempted to modulate coverage to placate the incoming administration, I want to reassure our readers that we have no intention of changing the way we approach our mission here at Vanity Fair,” the mag's editor in chief Radhika Jones wrote Thursday.
"Our principles remain clear," she wrote to readers. "We believe in freedom, democracy, and decency. We oppose racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and fascism. And we believe that a fearless, independent press, as enshrined in the US Constitution, is a crucial bulwark against authoritarianism."
>> For more from Jones, tune into the new episode of VF's "Inside the Hive" podcast. I interviewed Jones and author Jeff Sharlet about what's coming next...
|
|
|
Political media notes and quotes |
>> "Trump's win cemented it: New media is leaving the old guard behind," the WSJ's Isabella Simonetti and Anne Steele write. (WSJ)
>> Amid all the post-election conversations about the power of the right-wing podcaster and influencer ecosystem,
Taylor Lorenz makes the case that "there is simply no way that progressive content creators can compete" with right-wing creators..." (UserMag)
>> "Election denial conspiracy theories are exploding on X," and "this time they're coming from the left," David Gilbert reports. (WIRED)
>> About the tech CEOs courting Trump: "Believing that his political positions are fluid and his actions are often transactional, they are forging direct relationships they hope will benefit their businesses." (NYT)
>> In and around Hollywood, producers and creatives are "worried about the potential for censorship, retribution and even self-censorship that could stifle free expression at a time when they are already struggling to get substantive stories made." (TheWrap)
|
|
|
Zaslav bullish on media mergers |
Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN's parent) jumped 12% yesterday after the company reported big Max subscriber gains and CEO David Zaslav said a second Trump administration "may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation." Insider's Peter Kafka has details here.
>> In an internal memo yesterday, Zaslav extended "a sincere thank you to all of the incredible teams at CNN for your hard work and dedication over the US election period. Your journalism, broadcasting and storytelling is simply world-class, as is your resilience."
|
|
|
A fresh fight at the Post |
It's been one thing after another at The Washington Post this year: controversies involving Post publisher William Lewis, the unsettling departure of exec editor Sally Buzbee, the confusing "third newsroom" announcement, the uproar over the non-endorsement of Harris. Now there's this: Lewis on Thursday said staff "will be returning to the office five days a week in the coming months." The guild responded by calling it a "distressing" disruption. One of my best Post sources said the new directive "is being broadly viewed as a hostile act, impeccably timed to crater morale further..."
|
|
|
>> This morning "Paramount Global posted mixed third quarter financial numbers as its TV and film divisions dipped, but bosses are pointing to solid subscription growth and profits at Paramount+ and cost reductions as signs their plan is 'working...'" (Deadline)
>> "News Corp reported revenue and profit gains for its fiscal first quarter, driven by growth in its digital real estate services and book-publishing segments..." (WSJ)
>> "The Australian government will legislate for a ban on social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, in what it calls a world-leading package of measures that could become law late next year." (Reuters)
>> Apple's latest "public beta version of iOS 18.2" brings a "second wave of Apple Intelligence features." (Axios)
>> The Washington Post's new generative A.I. tool, "Ask The Post," leverages its journalism to provide readers with summaries and curated results. (Wash Post)
|
|
|
>> "Disney’s ‘Moana 2’ is heading to the best 5-day opening ever seen at the Thanksgiving box office," Anthony D'Alessandro reports, highlighting early projections for the movie... (Deadline)
>> "Simon Kinberg is heading into hyperspace, signing an expansive deal to write and produce a Star Wars feature trilogy," Borys Kit reports. (THR)
>> Starting on Dec. 6, Christopher Nolan's “Interstellar” will get the 70-millimeter IMAX treatment for one week to celebrate its 10th anniversary,
Pamela McClintock writes... (THR)
>> A fantastic weekend read: Simon van Zuylen-Wood explains "Ben Mezrich's foolproof formula for Hollywood success.." (Vulture)
|
|
|
This year's Grammy nominations will be announced at 10:45 a.m. ET on YouTube and the Grammys website. |
|
|
|
® © 2024 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.
1050 Techwood Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
