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HOW TRUMP AVOIDED THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA — AND WON THE PRESIDENCY  
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Aidan Ryan
November 12, 2024
Boston Globe
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_ “The real threat to the mainstream media as we know it is that
there now exists a successful model for avoiding them that didn’t
before Nov. 5,” said Michael Socolow, a media historian and
professor of journalism at the University of Maine. _

Donald Trump spoke with Dana White on election night in West Palm
Beach, Fla., Evan Vucci/Associated Press

 

Just hours before officially clinching a second term in the White
House
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Donald Trump ceded his victory speech podium to Ultimate Fighting
Championship CEO Dana White, who praised the president-elect before
quickly pivoting to deliver thanks.

He didn’t choose to first thank volunteers, campaign workers, or
even the 74 million-plus voters who cast ballots for Trump. Instead,
he thanked “the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, ‘Bussin’ With
The Boys,’ and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe
Rogan” — a group of podcasters, influencers, and independent media
personalities that Trump gravitated toward
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to reach potential voters ahead of the election.

In a shift from prior presidential campaigns, Trump’s victory came
despite his largely eschewing interviews with mainstream news outlets
such as The New York Times, ABC, and NPR, and instead embracing
podcasts and friendly, conservative alternative media. His strategy
marked a major change from prior cycles — including his own 2016
successful bid, in which he routinely sought mainstream media
interviews — that has raised questions about the role and relevance
of legacy news outlets going forward.

“The real threat to the mainstream media as we know it is that there
now exists a successful model for avoiding them that didn’t before
Nov. 5,” said Michael Socolow, a media historian and professor of
journalism at the University of Maine.

Hand-wringing about the traditional media’s role gained steam in the
campaign’s final weeks, when both The Washington Post and the Los
Angeles Times declined to endorse either candidate, prompting
firestorms
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among progressives and resignations of editorial board members who
said they had drafted endorsements for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Despite predictions of a tight race, Trump won decisively, including
in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and
Wisconsin that President Biden won in 2020.

To court voters, Trump leaned heavily into the fragmented reality of
media. He ditched traditional TV interviews, even backing out of an
appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes
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and instead relied on podcasts and influencers
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to speak to voters who don’t tune in to legacy news outlets. That
follows where audiences have gone — no longer do a handful of
broadcast networks and newspapers set the agenda on news and
information.

In the months leading up to the campaign, Trump went on the streaming
platform Kick with Adin Ross, sat down with the comedian Von, who
hosts the podcast “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” and was
interviewed for three hours by Rogan, arguably the most popular
podcast host in the country. Just before the election, Rogan endorsed
Trump.

Appearing on such podcasts was a strategy that Trump came to over the
summer after encouragement from his 18-year-old son, Barron, the Post
reported
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He also received significant support from Elon Musk, the billionaire
owner of X, which has been transformed into a Trump megaphone
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Trump wasn’t the only candidate leaning into nontraditional media.
Harris also spoke to podcasters such as “Call Her Daddy” host Alex
Cooper, who draws a sizable audience of largely young women, and
former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, who cohost the
podcast “All the Smoke,” which caters to young men. But where
Trump spoke almost exclusively to friendly, conservative outlets and
nonconfrontational programs, Harris also spent time answering
questions about her record on mainstream outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and
“60 Minutes.”

There are signs that Trump’s focus on young men might have worked.
Fifty-two percent of men age 18-44 and 46 percent of all voters age
18-29 voted for Trump, according to an Associated Press survey of more
than 120,000 voters.
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Daniel Cox, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a
conservative think tank, said that the fragmented media landscape that
Trump navigated with success has existed for years, but that the
differences in gender among audiences for podcasts like “The Joe
Rogan Experience” or “Call Her Daddy“ reflect something newer.

“For the first time, we’re seeing this heavily segregated gender
content online,” Cox said. “That is a big shift.”

While Cox said Trump is a singular figure that future candidates may
not be able to emulate, referring to his ability to attract
significant media attention for his provocative statements, the 2024
election does indicate political candidates will have to do much more
media to reach different audiences.

“You may have to reach out to a far greater range of folks than
previous candidates,” he said.

Still, podcasts and influencers don’t typically help politicians woo
voters in certain geographic places, and that is one of the ways
strong local news organizations remain vital, Cox added. Roughly 74
percent of Americans at least somewhat trust local news, a recent Pew
Research Center report
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found.

“There are opportunities to create a different model for local news
now that didn’t exist before,” said Kevin Merida, the former
editor of the Los Angeles Times and a former managing editor at the
Post. “We need to get to know our communities and neighbors
better.”

For mainstream outlets such as The New York Times, the Post, and the
Globe, the election of Trump in 2016 led to an increase in
subscribers, colloquially known as the “Trump bump.”
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But it remains to be seen
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whether there will be another such surge this time around.

Cox thinks not. “From what I’ve seen in the polling, there’s a
palpable sense of exhaustion” with Trump, he added.

That doesn’t mean traditional news outlets shouldn’t continue
covering Trump aggressively, said Merida, who wasn’t sure if there
would be a “Trump bump.” He said it’s important to focus on
learning from readership data on stories to preserve their own
relevance.

Traditional news organizations will also likely face challenges from
Trump
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who has previously responded to critical coverage by barring some
outlets from his press events, threatening to pull broadcast licenses
from networks, and suing outlets.

While some conservative pundits were quick to render legacy news
irrelevant after Trump’s victory — the Daily Wire commentator Matt
Walsh tweeted [[link removed]]
that legacy news “is officially dead” — others such as Merida
said it’s too early to sound the death knell.

“I don’t believe this is the end of mainstream media,” he said.
“But I do think it would do us well to have humility. We should
examine our craft, how we’re reaching audiences, how we’re telling
stories.”

Aidan Ryan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him
@aidanfitzryan [[link removed]].

 

* The Trump Election and the Media; Podcasts;
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