by Edwin Quinabo
Digital media started in the 1990s, 30 years later, today, it is fully entrenched to where the media environment is fragmented with information streams everywhere on multiple digital devices and platforms. Online streaming and podcasting of alternative news – both from the political right and left — is fiercely competitive to traditional corporate media, and both are jockeying for relevancy and a larger share of the communications market.
High profile, award-winning journalists moving to online news, motivated by greater freedom
Legendary journalist Chris Wallace recently announced he’s leaving his $7 million a year job at CNN to go all in on for streaming online via podcast. Wallace said he’s leaving because he sees the potential for deeper conversations and greater freedom outside traditional broadcasting, and he’s ready to make the leap. He highlighted how podcasters including Joe Rogan and Charlamagne tha God (popular podcasters) had set the agenda during the presidential election, but added, “I don’t flatter myself to think I will have that sort of reach.”
CNN wanted to retain Wallace but his decision to quit is seen as a sign of CNN’s waning influence in the media landscape, as other cable news have seen their ratings dip in this current media environment.
Wallace is among a growing list of high-profile journalists to cut the cord from traditional media to “social” (the umbrella term for online, digital, podcasting, livestreaming, electronic news, social media).
In April this year, MSNBC’s award-winning journalist Mehdi Hasan left after his show was cancelled even as the TV cable giant wanted to retain him for other regular segments. Instead, Hasan formed his own media company called Zeteo, a subscription-based mostly online news organization. He described Zeteo as a place where independent and unfiltered journalism is making its comeback. The platform, he says, “brings you hard-hitting interviews and unsparing analysis that you won’t find elsewhere. It’s a movement for media accountability with good old adversarial journalism.”
Like Wallace who mentioned greater freedom in the online media environment, Hasan said he wanted to establish Zeteo in part so that he can address more thoroughly the war in Gaza, among other issues. Hasan is a vocal and vociferous critic of the Gaza war and big corporate-based media have been known traditionally to stifle and sterilize coverage on wars.
While Wallace is centrist and Hasan a liberal, political libertarian Andrew Napolitano, retired judge, formerly of Fox News and Fox Business also started his own YouTube show Judge Napolitano- Judging Freedom. His channel already has 400,000 subscribers, indicating an appetite for even a Libertarian engagement.
Judging Freedom regularly hosts guests who are former high-level military and intelligence officials, people formerly in high places in government, and journalists critical of the U.S. establishment not frequently welcomed to appear on traditional corporate media. His YouTube channel described his show as “a daily discussion of news from the perspective that government is the negation of liberty, and the individual is greater than the state.”
Wallace, Hasan, and Napolitano – all from major news outfits CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, respectively – are a sampling of many others who’ve left traditional media to carve a space in the diverse online media environment, where they are joined by countless of other credentialed journalists and non-journalists impassioned over current events.
The Big 6 traditional media also engaged in online presence
The growing popularity of online news is not just a haven for former mainstream journalists and self-appointed, entrepreneurial news pundits, but it also has the Big 6 traditional media giants staking their presence in the digital world as well.
Six huge conglomerates control most of the major news outlets that are often referred to collectively as corporate mainstream media that includes 24-hour news stations, newspapers, publishing houses, TV and Film.
Who are the Big 6: 1) National Amusements owns Viacom and CBS properties, Simon and Schuster; 2) Disney owns ABC News, A&E, ESPN, Marvel, Walt Disney Studios; 3) TimeWarner owns Time, Life, DC, HBO; 4) Comcast owns NBC, Universal Pictures; 5) News Corp owns Fox News, FX, Wall Street Journal, New York Post; and 6) Sony. Most of the popular newspapers, magazines and radio stations are owned by a few chain companies that critics say monopolize traditional media.
While print subscriptions for major traditional media like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have been in decline, they are experiencing digital growth. The New York Times alone saw a 32% increase in digital-only subscriptions in 2022, surpassing 10 million subscribers and continuing to grow, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Corporate media’s penetration to online markets is standard industry practice.
Besides corporate mainstream media’s online digital presence, many have streaming on various platforms and podcasts – an example, Dateline NBC is the sixth most popular podcast.
The trust factor
While big corporate media is available in the online news environment, diminishing public trust in corporate media remains. Media experts say an appetite for alternative online news was established out of a distrust in corporate media in the first place, so seeking their online presence is counterintuitive.
Critics of traditional corporate media say their content is restrictive and designed to promote the status quo in society. Their coverage is mostly identical and pro-corporation, pro-military and self-censoring when it comes to workers concerns and in-depth coverage on popular issues like Medicare for All, raising the minimum wage, or labor rights. Traditional corporate media is innately protective of institutions because they are an institution themselves largely owned by a small super wealthy class, critics say.
Public intellectual and social critic Noam Chomsky said that, while the U.S. news media are adversarial toward U.S. government and policy at times, institutional filters operate to ensure that the criticisms made generally stay within narrow bounds set by the U.S. political and corporate elite.
Traditional corporate media defenders say the trust factor cuts both sides in that online alternative news sources, particularly podcasters and influencers without journalism backgrounds, report fake news and share misleading news memes. The silo effect critiquing traditional corporate media, that they are out-of-touch with average Americans, defenders of corporate media say, applies also to online news sources engaged in building niche audiences and politically ideological branding.
Diverse, multiple news sources are preferred, despite shortcomings
While both traditional corporate and alternative online news both have their shortcomings, the fact that there’s still room for expansion and growth shows Americans are in favor of multiple and diverse news sources, experts say.
Lizette Nolasco, Aiea, 23, a communications major said, “I recognize that while corporate media has the option to regulate content to serve as more well-rounded coverage and that other noncorporate options can publish false information, a variety of sources is still important.” She adds, “I’ve seen issues that are covered by smaller sources that the larger stations have neglected. Corporate mainstream media has a target audience they cater to, same as the smaller sources. Having other sources allows for different points of view since we all have varying opinions on several subjects. It gives a voice to those wanting to express their concerns that others may not have considered due to each individual’s limited worldview. However, this can only be considered the right direction if there is accountability for the truth.”
On corporate mainstream media, Nolasco said she dislikes that corporate mainstream media tends to focus on a singular viewpoint. On its accuracy, “there have been times when I’ve seen accusations with photographic backing of articles being published and then removed or changed after publication to align with an alternate point of view,” she said.
Tess Bernales, Kailua, a political independent, gets her news from various sources and platforms. “These days, I get news from various sources and platforms. In the past I have subscribed to the Star Advertiser, but it has become expensive for the kind of news and features it carries. I would go to the library for corporate mainstream media such as the Washington Post and New York Times. When they started charging a fee, I stopped going to their sites. I look for other sources available online for national and international news. For Cable TV I tune in to – CNN, Local TV News, all 3- Fox, ABC, NBC. For print media- Hawaii Filipino Chronicle and Star Advertiser. For social media – Facebook and other online news such as Google news and Yahoo News. I also read online news from Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin and Rappler.”
While Bernales said she’s neutral in her feelings about corporate mainstream media, she offers some negative critique. “It has become commercialized, heavy focus on advertising revenues. There are too few media outlets due to consolidation resulting in biased reporting, few dissenting voices, less substance and decreased local coverage. For positives, I can get news from around the world in one paper including a variety of supplements like Food, Best Sellers, Travel, etc.”
Dennia Galolo, an associate editor of the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, said his primary source for news is Fox News. “As for local news, I go online to Hawaii News Now’s website. Additionally, I watch a number of YouTube videos and podcasts that offer independent and conservative political commentaries,” he said.
On political news coverage, Galolo said “I’ve noticed that CNN, MSNBC and other legacy media share the same far left slanted bias and liberal agenda. It’s not very often that a conservative speaker with a different viewpoint is invited as a guest speaker.”
Sol Domingo, 56, Waipahu, a self-described “news junkie” said, “I watch and read everything I can get a hold on including news on my phone from news apps. When I have more time, I listen to podcasts on YouTube. People give online news and social media news a bad rap. If you seek fake news, there’s plenty out there. But if you are discriminating and serious about news, there are also professional journalists out there. There are journalistically rigorous online news sources and podcasts. In fact, time and time again, you will also see fake news reported by traditional corporate media that will retract their inaccurate reporting. This happens even in the New York Times. The fake news label is not exclusive to online news sources.”
Domingo said, “what I look for on YouTube are news channels that have extensive long interviews – we’re talking 30 minutes to 1 hour – of academics. Cable news interviews are very short and superficial, and they tend not to have academics with critical viewpoints. Even if they did have guests with critical opinions, they’re given at most five minutes or so.” Domingo said, who is supportive of today’s diverse and expanded news environment.
Red flagging, censorship, demonetization and shadow blocking
Media experts and social media influencers say there is increasing monitoring by Tech companies of their platforms that is working to stop the spreading of fake news. There are red flag notifications and straight-out censorship by multiple platforms. YouTube and other platforms that monetize users will also use demonetizing to curb or stop misleading or inflammatory content.
Other serious alternative news journalists say demonetizing and censorship while valid in some cases, are also weaponized to suppress valid criticisms. In such cases, these Tech giants are acting as gatekeepers of valuable information that should be disseminated and are no different as when corporate mainstream media does their filtering. A common complaint of social media users is shadow blocking, which they describe as algorithms designed to hide or limit – partial censoring – of sensitive information like criticism of the Gaza war. Independent studies have shown shadow blocking to be a real phenomenon.
CEO/founder of the Young Turks (TYT) which has 27 million subscribers told Variety that it’s important to call out both right and left-wing media for their inaccuracies and biases, suggesting that both traditional corporate media and online media are guilty of them. He asserts that traditional corporate media are influenced by politicians and advertisers, and that online media are also influenced by advertisers or subscribers.
What the General Election revealed about traditional and online media
Former White House press secretary and MSNBC political analyst Jen Psaki is blaming social media disinformation for Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss. ““One of the things that’s changed even since I got involved in politics is just the rise of the percentage of people who get their information off of platforms that have no fact checking mechanism and no accountability for having disinformation spread,” she said.
Echoing the same sentiment, CNN senior political commentator Van Jones, said, “We got beat because the Republicans and conservatives built a different media system that has to do with online, podcasts, streaming platforms. And they were spending their money there. We were laughing at them. And the knocking on doors in Philadelphia and Detroit was like, there’s no Trump people. They’re not dropping literature, knocking on doors. We were making fun of Donald Trump for having thrown away his ground game and doing some weird stuff online. We thought they were idiots. It turned out we were the idiots. We woke up in a body bag because while we were knocking on doors, they were making these phones into 24 hour a day political weapon for themselves.”
How big is social media. Here are just a few of the social media platforms where news is shared with over 100 million registered users: Twitter, Meta (formerly known as Facebook), YouTube, and TikTok.
Campaign strategists and media analysts said Harris’ refusal to appear on the number one Podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience hurt her. Rogan has an estimated 11 million listeners per episode and Trump spent hours talking to Rogan – realizing the show’s importance — which is why Trump was late to his own rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Rogan eventually endorsed Trump.
Galolo said of the General Election coverage, “It gets very old, if not irritating, to hear the same talking points after eight years of negative news reporting by the legacy media. So, it’s not surprising that voters such as I turned to more balanced news stations like FOX and even YouTube podcasts for their information.”
Nolasco said, “With such a vast number of options, people are choosing to follow sources that align and cater to those with their values and beliefs. Without fairly neutral ground or accountability for publishing the truth, people may believe the information they see without questioning the agenda or source. I’ve seen headlines that were exaggerated or false being published across the internet that very well could have led to the result of the election.”
Signs of corporate mainstream media slipping
Fox hosts have long accused most of American news media as pro-Democratic party. Fox News comedian Greg Gutfeld said the General Election saw the loss of not only Harris, but the media. “The media is dead,” he said. His prime-time colleague at Fox Sean Hannity, said “It’s dead,” suggesting that most mainstream media rallied behind Harris with their partisan reporting, but it didn’t work with Harris falling to Trump.
CNN Brian Stelter said a radio journalist he interviewed, who spoke on anonymity, said it is “hard not to see this election as just a national repudiation of what we [mainstream journalists] do.”
Some alternative news online journalists say this election only confirms that traditional mainstream news outlets are struggling to remain relevant and that audiences are increasingly embracing online platforms, podcasts, YouTube videos and other sources of digital media. They believe it’s in corporate media’s self-interest to scapegoat alternative online news as fake news because millions of Americans are leaving traditional news channels.
Bernales said, “The General Election’s outcome pointed out loud and clear that the media’s influence is waning as Americans turned to alternative news sources. There’s a growing distrust leading the majority to seek information from diverse platforms. The proliferation of social media has become significant sources of news allowing users to tailor their information needs according to their preferences. The emergence of extreme polarization of politics has driven many people to seek information that aligns with their views only. The platforms exacerbated partisan animosity by enabling echo chambers and spreading disinformation.”
On the direction of media, Galolo said, “It depends on whether the media will learn from its mistakes and return to old school, unbiased journalism where facts are presented, and viewers are left to make up their own minds. If not, we can expect to see a continued exodus away from mainstream media and towards other news sources and outlets.” He adds, “I think that we can all agree that a free, independent and unbiased press is a hallmark of democracy. It should be concerning that over 60 percent of voters say there is fake news. In the long term, I think the public loses.”
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