Civics: The old media grapples with its new limits
The national news media is more limited in its reach and influence than ever in the modern era.
Already, Democratic media figures have begun discussing publicly and privately how the erosion of traditional media consumption among a large segment of Americans requires their politicians to engage with nontraditional media in a more serious and systematic way.
Both the Biden and Harris campaigns frequently touted a media strategy that was built around interviews with local television and radio stations, which the campaigns argued were more trusted with Americans in battleground states. That strategy may have worked for Biden in 2020, but it didn’t help the Harris campaign get over the line this time.
Some left-leaning media leaders feel that the next generation of national Democrats need to take a page out of the conservative media playbook and invest in overtly partisan outlets.
Crooked Media co-founder Tommy Vietor told Semafor in a text message that Trump effectively nurtured right-wing podcasters and influencers in a way that helped him shape the narrative with his supporters.
