“ President-elect Donald Trump didn’t just win the 2024 US election, he absolutely dominated it. Political pundits the world over are ascribing his win to numerous factors:His promises to revive the economy and put America first; His stance on immigration and mass deportation; and His war on wokeness.Love him or loathe him, there is one move that, beyond any of his policies, won Trump the election and it was strategically brilliant: He waged a war against mainstream media. Journalism was already on its knees before Trump entered the arena. Having suffered disruption blows from the right hook of the digital age and the uppercut of advertising flowing to big tech (and away from news media), the industry found solace in a fundamentally flawed new business model: the paywall. For the news junkies among you, you’ll understand the frustration of coming across an article that piques your interest, only to be denied access to it until you subscribe: that’s a paywall. Now, imagine you’re not really that interested in reading the news. What’s the likelihood that you’ll pay to read that article? The purpose of journalism is to give the facts, expose what is untrue, give information that is of public interest. Ultimately the purpose of journalism is to defend democracy. And, wow, did the news media fail. One of the most successful news publications in the world, The New York Times, boasts 11 million subscribers. There are an estimated 260 million adults in the US. On the other hand, social media is free. Elon Musk has, at the time of writing, 204.2 million followers. ”
Steve Taylor ● 43d