A doomsday scenario in the media after the presidential victory of Donald Trump – Poynter

Donald Trump’s campaign, to the delight of his supporters, has often been a dark message full of hate, division and threats. One of his main targets: the media.

Trump likes to reach into his rhetoric bag and pull out his favorite phrase about the press: “the enemy of the people.” He said that last weekend. Plus, there’s a greatest hits album about the media, including calling everything he doesn’t like “fake news.”

He has been doing this for over eight years and has never given up.

In recent weeks, Trump has talked about the media being shot. He threatened to go after CBS because he didn’t like Kamala Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview. Even when Fox News, a network that kneels in its presence and carries its water virtually all day long, dares to have a Democrat in its airways, Trump goes crazy and criticizes it.

Trump’s messages often seem to be about revenge and retaliation. So are his threatening comments about the media just inflammatory talk designed to inflame his base? Or is he sincere about pursuing his enemies, with the press at the top of his list?

In the early hours of Wednesday — just moments after he was officially declared the winner by AP and other news outlets — Trump spoke to his supporters, calling CNN and MSNBC “the enemy camp.” (Actually, Trump, as always, called MSNBC MSDNC.)

In a speech in which he could have celebrated his victory with grace, humility and unity, Trump still aired his grievances, starting with the media. That seems like an ominous sign of what he has in store for his second term as president.

Jon Allsop of the Columbia Journalism Review wrote“For now, a few key things seem clear to the press – things we’ve known conceptually for a while, but are now struck with shocking new clarity. Most importantly, Trump’s impending second term poses a credible and unprecedented threat to press freedom as America knows it.”

Also for CJR, Kyle Paoletta wrote“Next year, Trump’s attack on the press will become a barrage of discreet efforts to quash whatever reporting he deems hostile. Access to the West Wing will be restricted, perhaps by aides who only legitimize journalists from conservative circles — or even close the White House briefing room entirely. More consequential are plans by Trump and his allies to turn the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission against the media, which will entail a series of leak investigations, the politicization of broadcast licensing and antitrust disputes, and the possible indictment of journalists for espionage. Reporters covering protests and immigration enforcement will be detained not only by local police, but also by the Department of Homeland Security. Trump may even take action in Congress to reform libel laws or otherwise criminalize dissent.”

After winning a second term, Trump is now emboldened to continue his attack on the media.

In his CNN “Reliable Sources” newsletter, Brian Stelter wrote, “Trump is never satisfied with the reporting. He always wants more flexible, propagandistic media. Trump’s re-election ushers in a new period of hostility, both toward major media outlets that strive for impartiality and partisan media outlets that oppose him.”

I reached out to several media experts about what the next four years will look like with Trump as president. I will publish some of this in Friday’s newsletter.

After Trump’s victory, many in the right-wing media said that the so-called mainstream media no longer had any relevance.

Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh tweeted this after Trump’s victory became official: “Legacy media is officially dead. Their ability to control the narrative has been destroyed. Trump declared war on the media in 2016. Tonight he completely conquered them. They will never be relevant again.”

In his newsletter, Stelter wrote: “That’s wishful thinking on Walsh’s part — Tuesday’s election marathon coverage was a testament to the media’s relevance — but the point is that many Trump voters share his wish. They believe the national news media is a big part of what ails America. Not only do they distrust what they read, they often don’t read it at all. Can anything be done to change that?”

Stelter pointed out a quote in a New Yorker article by Charlotte Klein. An unnamed TV executive told Klein, “If half the country has decided that Trump is qualified to be president, that means they don’t read this media, and we’ve completely lost this audience. A Trump victory means that the mainstream media in its current form is dead. And the question is what it will look like afterwards.”

Stelter added: “’Death’ is of course a gross exaggeration, but the comment reflected the real concerns that many members of the media have. There is a serious trust deficit between the Trump base and the major institutional media.”

Meanwhile, Semafor’s David Weigel wrote“…another democratic conversation in the next two years could be about the remnants of the mainstream media losing influence every four years. On Harris-friendly cable news, ex-Republicans expressed their horror at who Trump was and what he had done; in the new social media and podcasts favored by Republicans, it was all nonsense that was disconnected from what voters really cared about.”

Could there be a Trump bump? That is, could we see a jump in newspaper and website subscriptions and television audiences, just like we saw when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016?

Countless experts told Benjamin Mullin of The New York Times that Trump’s victory could lead to a spike, at least in the short term, for news organizations. Mullin added: “Cable news ratings, subscriptions to digital news organizations, and charitable donations are likely to increase as audiences enter a news-intensive post-election period. But that enthusiasm could wane in the coming weeks and months as viewers become exhausted by the relentless news cycle.”

Frank Sesno, a professor at George Washington University and former CNN Washington bureau chief (and member of the Poynter National Advisory Board), told Mullin: “Trump 2.0 will likely be a very different administration than we saw before. This will have enormous consequences and news value. It will energize the right-wing media, and it will panic the left.”

Last month, the Washington Post editorial board reportedly endorsed Kamala Harris for president. But the approval was blocked by Post owner Jeff Bezos. The newspaper did not endorse either candidate, but by blocking Harris’ endorsement it came across as a de facto endorsement of Trump. Or at the very least, Bezos seemed concerned that he would get on Trump’s bad side if the newspaper supported Harris.

Two writers left the Post’s editorial staff, two columnists left the paper outright, and the decision not to endorse was heavily criticized by Marty Baron, the Post’s respected former editor-in-chief, and by legendary Post journalists Bob Woodward. and Carl Bernstein.

And more than 250,000 people have reportedly canceled their subscriptions.

Bezos wrote one essay He explained his decision by saying, “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the balance of an election.” He added: “What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending it is a decision of principle, and it is the right one.”

On Wednesday, Bezos made another public announcement. He congratulated Trump in one tweet at X. Bezos wrote: “Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th president on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No country has greater opportunities. I wish @realDonaldTrump every success as he leads and unites the America we all love.”

The tweet attracted thousands and thousands of comments, most of which criticized Bezos.

Other media news, facts and interesting links about Trump, Harris and the elections…

Do you have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

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