A New Trump Bump for the Media

Historically, journalism has thrived in times of ideological upheaval. The current ideological shift that was on display in the 2024 election could offer the media an opportunity for recovery—or at least redemption—if they manage to break free from their political allegiances.

After Donald Trump’s sizable win, the political tide changed. Now, with institutional power in hand and piled-up grievances in mind, conservatives are poised to challenge every discourse previously dominated by progressives. It seems that the conservatives’ push to revise the leading narratives and the progressives’ resistance to it will shape the main focus of political struggle in 2025.

In such a political revision, the greatest drive comes from revealing what was concealed. For the media, covering what was covered up offers good business prospects. This occurred, for example, during Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost (“openness,” “outspokenness”) in the former USSR, when exposing the abuses and privileges of former elites turned many news outlets into gold mines.

In 1990, the Soviet weekly Arguments and Facts reached an astonishing circulation of 33.5 million copies, setting an all-time global record for newspapers. Founded in 1978, it was originally an information bulletin providing statistics for communist propagandists and lecturers. However, as the ideological climate in the USSR shifted, the publication transformed to meet the public’s growing appetite for stories previously suppressed by propaganda.

The most popular section of Arguments and Facts featured a question-and-answer format, with some issues entirely dedicated to this style. The approach was a huge success. Answering to the people instead of the party and addressing ignored or censored topics were revolutionary. Public trust in Arguments and Facts soared, making it not only the most widely read newspaper in the world but also the most profitable media outlet in the country.

Today, a somewhat similar ideological shift is occurring, though to a much lesser degree, in the U.S. and in the West in general. The once-dominant ideological narratives—be they DEI, identity politics or censorship—are losing their power. Their dominance kept many public inquiries ignored or distorted, creating a condition ripe for explosive disclosure. Unattended by authoritative sources, those public inquiries have fueled conspiracy theories, benefiting X and Fox News. Nevertheless, there is still a viable market niche for traditional journalism to regain public interest.

Of course, the media should continue holding Donald Trump accountable. They must always be critical of the powerful, scrutinizing Trump’s administration as fiercely, tirelessly and daringly as they did Biden’s. But is there anything new to tell the public about Trump? For a brief period, during the “Trump Bump” of 2016-2018, selling the fear of Trump worked relatively well for a few media outlets. However, that time has gone, leaving journalism in terrible shape, with public trust dropping to an all-time low. Selling the Trump scare now offers little business return and, in fact, never provided any ideological gains; rather, it has fueled Trump’s support, contributing to his return to the White House.

With the political winds changing, news outlets will face a choice between political allegiance and professional instincts: They could opt to cling to their long-time alliances with progressives and bureaucracy, yielding little business return, or instead tap into the public’s demand for revelations once dismissed as conspiracies and nothingburgers.

Thanks to social media and some “rogue” media outlets, the public has become quite well-informed about stories like Hunter Biden’s laptop. In the meantime, no major publication has investigated the suppression of the laptop story, which could be a bombshell, offering journalists some sort of professional redemption. These and other pivots to real public appetites would have provided the media with professional closure in the final years of their existence, and possibly even some revenue. Of course, this is unlikely to happen. The leadership—and especially the rank and file—of major newsrooms are too deeply entrenched in postjournalism, engaging in activism rather than actual news coverage.

The time of great revelations is coming anyway. Topics like vaccine deals with Big Pharma, bureaucratic spending priorities, the state of education, migration and crime, and former President Biden’s health and governance during his tenure offer rich material for investigations. These topics were once suppressed, but now that the tide is turning, their potential to drive readership, viewership and revenue for media outlets is strong. This and other revelations will reward news outlets and may even lead them to a new Trump Bump.