One of my friends on Facebook suggested I need to read sources like the NYT or BBC, insinuating I spend too much time on Fox. I actually pull from a range of sources to stay informed—Fox is just one piece of the puzzle. I don’t allow myself to get trapped in a single echo chamber, though we all have our biases to navigate. Mine lean conservative. That said, the implication that I’m too narrow-minded to look beyond one outlet feels a bit condescending, don’t you think?
I know it’s hard for my liberal friends to comprehend how a guy who is a former newspaper publisher could possibly support President Donald Trump’s actions. I hear from them privately. As I noted in a previous column, I didn’t get here overnight, but I’m here. I’m a center-right guy who was frankly sick of what the progressive left was doing to our country. And I know Biden wasn’t actually running things. I worried deeply about my kids and my grandkids—global wars, our debt, open borders, boys competing with girls in sports, other cultural and woke issues, cancel culture, Free Speech infringement, election integrity (no ID to vote?!), a terrible energy policy, rising crime, government overreach, and more. I had plenty of valid, real concerns.
So, back to my Facebook friend: let me give you a quick analysis of how I see media and Trump.
In 2017, early in Trump’s first term, a Shorenstein Center study showed 87% negative coverage of Trump by the NYT. In July 2024, the NYT editorial board labeled him “unfit” for a second term. On February 11—just a little over a week ago—the NYT was already screaming about a constitutional crisis, their predictions for Trump’s second term already dire and alarming. A 2020 Pew study found 91% of NYT readers are liberal or moderate, so there’s incentive to deliver negative Trump content. That’s just a fact. Much of its negative coverage, especially in the first term, was sometimes warranted. Trump’s style and bombastic approach created plenty of fodder. There’s possibly never been a more polarizing presidential term. I believe he was ill-prepared for his first term and surrounded by people who wanted to protect the status quo. He was undermined from within. Call it what you want, but the deep state was in full, glorious view. That’s also a fact. Trump was nearly eaten alive by it. The fake Russia hoax dominated his presidency. And just when he was starting to gain traction with legislative successes, closing the border, lowering unemployment, etc., COVID hit. What a disaster.
I could also cite the NYT’s lack of coverage of Biden’s missteps and alleged corruption, which pushed the NYT’s liberal bias narrative even further. That’s a column by itself. Despite all this, I still read it. I want the perspective.
Do I even need to mention establishment cable news? CNN, MSNBC (whose news efforts, like Morning Joe and Rachel Maddow, were the brainchild of the same guy, Andy Lack—look him up—who brought us Mississippi Today, the MSNBC of Mississippi), ABC, NBC, CBS, and even the BBC all have a liberal, anti-Trump bias for much the same reason the NYT does.
The BBC has plenty of critics—there’s a lot to read about this organization. Accusations of bias are vigorously debated by both sides. But all I needed to understand about the BBC was their refusal to call Hamas a terrorist organization. Still, I watch these outlets, especially CNN and the BBC, because I want their perspective and to know what the world is seeing.
For too long, establishment media controlled the narrative. They were the liberal gatekeepers. Books will be written about this. A digital tsunami has washed over traditional media, giving way to wildly successful podcasts that illuminate cracks in the shield of establishment media while attracting large, right-leaning audiences: The Ben Shapiro Show, The Dan Bongino Show, The Charlie Kirk Show, The Matt Walsh Show, The Joe Rogan Experience, Tucker Carlson Today / The Tucker Carlson Show, Louder with Crowder, and many others have emerged. Trump’s election to a second term is also a form of redemption for news outlets like Fox News, Newsmax, One America News Network, The New York Post, and The Washington Examiner. I should add that SuperTalk Mississippi is solidly in that group.
The media upheaval has been spectacularly transformative. Conservatives finally have a voice. The tide has changed forever, and the Republican Party is growing as a result. There’s no looking back.
One last thing: our journalism schools have struggled to adapt to the digital transformation of news, and they continue to churn out liberal journalists. A 2023 Pew Research study found only 9% of journalists identified as Republicans. Many other studies confirm journalists are mostly liberal. We’ll see if this trend continues.
I wish I had a dime for every time my wife Ann asked me to change the channel. That’s when Netflix gets a nod. I usually just toss her the “clicker” with a smile and tell her to watch what she wants. In the final analysis, it’s entirely possible to be a conservative and not live in a media echo chamber. I’m proof. And there are a growing number of people like me.
