The mainstream media has been dying for the last ten years or so, with the beginning of their downfall coming during President Trump's first term. That is when they began the yelling over Russia this, racist that, which ultimately turned into why the Democrats lost the 2024 election. They have been spinning down the drain for some time, and now in President Trump's second term of transparency and quick-hitting action, they are on life support.
President Trump has hit the ground running and has left the establishment in the dust with a 'shock and awe' type blitz. It is leaving networks unsure of what to cover, or unsure of what insanely Left leaning panelist to have on their network to bash his actions. Beyond that, they cannot find an angle to bash it because the news has been good.
Jeff McCall, professor of media studies at DePauw University, says the last two weeks have already given us a new world of media.
"The media agenda has changes, it is a very fast and full agenda...I imagine it is very tough for news executives to keep up with everything, and figure out what to cover, and what not to cover," he says.
It has been nothing but transparency from the jump in the new administration. Trump has said what he is going to do and done everything he has said. There has been no curiosity, no backroom dealings, no smokescreens. Nothing there to rip on besides good, effective policies he is creating.
That has put the establishment media in a tailspin. Add to that, the fact that they no longer hold the weight they once did, and you have outlets frustrated they no longer have a good seat at the table. That has now opened up new forms of media, like podcasts and blogs, to get the same amount of access the mainstream has benefitted from for years.
All of it is a positive, in more ways than one.
"The Trump administration realizes that a lot of Americans are not going to establishment media anymore, and if they want to reach those people, they have to go down different avenues," says McCall.
You could argue that embracing so-called 'new media' is what helped President Trump win the election. It was his appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast which elevated him to new audiences and gave a glimpse into his high level of competence.
There have been plenty of studies showing that most Americans, especially younger ones, get their main news sources from things like Tik Tok or podcasts. So, it is only natural to go with that trend.
It has allowed a new wave of media, and truth, to seep in, and that is the best thing for us moving forward.
"I think it is good for the nation to have the administration encouraging new media to get a voice in the game...number one, that is where the audience is going...but number two, it allows him to reach a lot of people who have just given up on establishment media," says McCall.
It has been just over two weeks, and President Trump has already changed the game in terms of American culture. He has made people feel American pride once again. But he is also managing to purge and begin fixing an untrustworthy, broken media system as well, and that might be his biggest win of all.
Photo: AFP