The Fall of Legacy Media

The U.S. presidential election is in full-swing and there are already some new ways in which the two candidates are campaigning, also dubbed "the podcast election." The two candidates, especially Tump, are appearing on podcasts such as the Joe Rogan Show, Theo Von's podcast, or in Kamal Harris' case Club Shae Shae to gain points with a broader range of voter demographics. It reflects the changing dynamics of how we consume content and the power of podcast influencers in today’s media landscape. It is not uncommon for a single podcaster to have more influence than entire news platforms, backed by dozens of journalists and staff.  

People are shifting from watching traditional cable news channels to consuming more and more independent news outlets. Elon Musk is trying to undermine the credibility of these traditional outlets with his X.com. Surveys show that trust in mainstream media has been declining. In the U.S., trust in traditional news media is at an all-time low, with only about 30% expressing trust in them. Studies also show that the rise of misinformation is threatening the fabrics of our society and leading to more divisiveness all around the world. This is a problem.

Now, of course, this is an unprecedented opportunity for content creators to build their own media empires, but it also means that consumers are increasingly consuming in their own silos. This leads to more polarization. We pick and choose, based on our beliefs, how we’d like to inform ourselves. This abundance of different sources means critical thinking skills have never been more in demand. 

I’m noticing this when trying to understand recent polling data on the election. Depending on where you will look, each source has a different angle of interpreting the data based on their own favorite candidate. The stand-out sources are those that can give their viewers context — people yearn for more objectivity and an authority to really tell them what’s really going on. 

In my eyes the big winners of this new media landscape of independent journalism are those who can generate the most trust with the largest possible audience. The kind of trust that is generated an eye for the big picture, divorced from any particular agenda.

„Media literacy“ is the new skill that you need to be well-informed. It is actively seeking out different perspectives and knowing the biases they are influenced by. Never has it been easier to be misled or manipulated, but the good news is that this competitive landscape gives rise to a few stand-out creators that really cut through the noise and help you gain more perspective on what’s going on. 

What are your favorite news sources?

Feel free to send me recommendations jmpwittig@gmail.com.

I know this is not a sales-related post, but since the election is coming up, I thought it was important to touch on this issue.