Killing the Mainstream Media, By Chris Knight (Florida)

It has been noted, at least for the US, but perhaps to a lesser extent in Australia, that the mainstream media are losing their hold upon the population in terms of pumping out propaganda, given by the government, Big Business and Big Pharma. I saw on Dr Steve Turley's YouTube channel even some mainstream media commentators, saying that their power is being eclipsed by the alternative media, citing Joe Rogen and X as examples.

Governments are well aware of this now, and internet censorship laws are primarily being produced, as in Australia, to try and counter this, and cripple Elon Musk's X. But, with the new Trump administration, this issue will not be neglected, since Trump himself, even as president was censored by the then Twitter and other social media. Hopefully the administration, under the influence of Musk will fight this to the bitter end; a bitter end for the censors, such as the Australian Albo government.

https://www.newsweek.com/mainstream-media-public-trust-donald-trump-election-results-1980025

"Last month, the entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David had Donald Trump on his podcast, where he congratulated him for "killing the mainstream media."

"I did. I'm very proud of it too," Trump responded.

It was classic Trump bombast that carried with it more than a kernel of truth. While the president-elect may not have personally ended the media, defined for the purposes of this story as newspapers, TV, radio and the like—including the outlet you're reading—the press as a whole comes out of Tuesday's election a far diminished force.

Elon Musk—the billionaire to whom Trump entrusted digital campaigning, evidently with success—broadened the point on Tuesday night when he also declared the media all but dead. "You are the media now," he told his 200 million followers on X.

On CNN, political commentator Scott Jennings, a former aide to President George W. Bush, outlined where he said the media had erred in the final weeks of the campaign.

"We have been sitting around for the last couple weeks and the story that was portrayed was not true," he 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."

The path of traditional media's institutional collapse is really two intertwining stories: a breakdown of its business model exacerbated by a breakdown of influence, the extent of which became clear this campaign cycle. Behind it all lies a growing sense among Americans that the media cannot be trusted to tell them the news they believe is fair.

Joe Biden is likely to leave office as the first president since Franklin Roosevelt to deny The New York Times an on-the-record interview. Kamala Harris is the first presidential candidate in modern history to snub Time magazine, to the chagrin of its billionaire publisher. Donald Trump hasn't sat down with CNN in 18 months, instead focusing his campaign media strategy on podcasters and social media influencers like Bet-David, though he has written opinion pieces for Newsweek.

It was a bold move that paid off, at least in terms of reach. His three-hour appearance on Joe Rogan's far-reaching podcast garnered 40 million views on YouTube in a week—more than twice the combined audience of the Big 3 television newscasts.

When Newsweek asked the Trump camp why it agreed to the Rogan interview, campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz responded that it was a no-brainer.

"Engaging with podcasters like Joe Rogan allows people to see the human side of President Trump that the mainstream media deliberately won't cover," he said.

The mass media's slow but steady loss of influence predates Trump. It can be traced to economic headwinds brought on by the digital revolution and evolving consumer preferences.

In 2010, about 105 million U.S. households subscribed to a cable television package. This year, that number was down to 68 million, according to Statista, for a 35 percent decrease in 14 years. Just last week it was reported that cable behemoth Comcast was considering spinning out its cable networks, including the likes of MSNBC and Bravo, which were once the most lucrative segment of its TV portfolio.