Trump is making the press obsolete.
I think what he’s doing is taking the press apart, only to put it back together again as something like it should have been all along.
The NY Times reported 95% drop in revenue. CNN is now rated below MSNBC. Washington Post should be dropping too, he’s been hitting them pretty hard.
He’s taking them apart, by going over their heads,m as the cartoon suggests. who needs the press when he can use Twitter and go directly to his audience, and they get the unfiltered truth, rather than the propaganda not enough people know they are getting.
As more people pay attention to social media, more people also find out they are being fed propaganda by the press, and the press is less relevant by the day.
Once it all falls apart, he can rebuild it without a lot of trouble, and simply tell them, OK tell the truth this time.
I doubt if printed newspapers will ever come back. Too easy to get online and get it through digital means, and it doesn’t kill thousands of trees. Many stores are already offering online coupons, fewer paper ones in your mailbox every day. Newspapers will see the same trend, the Internet will eventually be their death knell. They can switch to an online format or die a slow death.
TV news will stick around a lot longer, but internet news via youtube will take a chunk out of their viewer base, and Trump going around them via social media will eventually force them to start being a lot more honest.
He’s doing this for a reason, and with a purpose. It’s not accidental, it’s not random, it’s not unintended.
Never underestimate Donald Trump.
Good analysis, Pete.
I used to love reading the Sunday version of the local Commie rag, and would still do so, but hey - they're Commies. They've convinced me that capitalism is evil, and I agree, so I don't buy their product. /sarc