As many of you know, I have been writing about liberal bias in the mainstream media for around 22 years now. This is a column I’ve wanted to write for a while. In fact, I began writing this version of it over a week ago, but I kept kicking around different ways of going about it.
I was prompted to write this by something that happens all too frequently: people challenging my use of the phrase “mainstream media (MSM).” One of the reasons that I waited to write this is because I get pretty irritated by that. Anyone who reads me regularly knows that I am not a man who is lacking in self-confidence. After two plus decades of writing on the subject, I’m certain that I know what I’m talking about.
Before I get into my well-thought-out reasons for the continued use of mainstream media that are based on extensive experience, I will explain why I haven’t warmed to some of the alternatives that are frequently suggested to me.
“Legacy media” is one that’s often brought up, and while it’s not inaccurate, I just feel that it doesn’t adequately convey what I’m trying to get across when I write about the MSM. “Legacy” almost makes it sound niche and vestigial, a remnant from the past that will soon be forgotten. Make no mistake, I wish that were the case, but, as you will shortly see, the numbers don’t bear that out.
“Corporate media” is another phrase that people are fond of suggesting. It’s wholly inaccurate for the discussion of liberal bias in the media. I’m corporate media. The Fox News Channel is corporate media. Again, in the broader sense, it’s not inaccurate. When I’m specifically writing about lefty influence in the media, “corporate media” muddies the waters a bit.
“Advocacy media” and “propaganda media” are both accurate as well, and clunky to write, read, and say aloud. I will occasionally use both when the situation warrants it, but neither will be put into the regular rotation.
Then there are the personal preference nicknames like “lamestream media.” Hey — you do you. Some of the ones I’ve seen are fun, they’re just not for me. I’ve already got my own snarky description: the Democrats’ flying monkeys in the mainstream media. That’s fun to write once a column and I always feel better when I can get in a reference to The Wizard of Oz, which is one of the few “classic” movies that I like (don’t get me started).
Let us move on to my use of “mainstream media.” According to Merriam-Webster, as a noun, “mainstream” means “a prevailing current or direction of activity or influence.” That’s the closest definition for my point, especially the word “prevailing.” If you’d like to continue with Dictionary Time and check out what Merriam-Webster has to say about the verb “prevail” you’ll see that it’s apt here.
A good starting point for this discussion is a much-needed reminder that a huge portion of the American electorate doesn’t spend its time glued to digital media or even cable. Those of us who do — either professionally or personally — often lose sight of this fact. I’ve been guilty of doing that myself. We begin to assume that the rest of the world consumes news and information the way we do when, in reality, there are millions of voters in America who don’t.
The aforementioned numbers are both disheartening and encouraging.
Disheartening because the Big Three networks still have a staggering amount of viewers when compared to Fox News even when it’s humming on all cylinders. When Tucker Carlson hit three million viewers a night on FNC, it was an impressive feat for cable. By comparison, the second week of this month saw ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, and CBS Evening News average 7.31 million, 5.88 million, and 4.38 million, respectively.
What’s encouraging is that these numbers have fallen off a cliff compared to their heyday. Still, that’s a reach of about 17.5 million every weeknight. Tucker Carlson at his peak at FNC still fell a million short of Norah O’Donnell on CBS, and she’s been hemorrhaging viewers since she got the gig.
On the print/digital side of things, the New York Times has almost 10 million subscribers. Unlike television news, the Times has been gaining subscribers in recent years. This is significant because almost every leftist false narrative that we have to battle is kept going strong by the New York Times. Most of them originate there too.
The network news honchos generally consult the Times when making decisions for each evening’s broadcast. Other major leftist print and digital organizations follow its lead. The Times is still the primary driver of news that’s consumed by every American who is not a conservative digital media or Fox News fan. Millions of people who have never subscribed to the New York Times in any form are still getting their news from it.
The news that is generated in the coastal media bubbles reaches far beyond them. Just because you’re not influenced by any of it doesn’t mean that it isn’t influencing anyone. Elderly voters — even Republicans — are still getting their information from mainstream sources.
Because the sources are mainstream and easy to get. See where I’m going with this?
Older voters are still a factor in the electorate. That’s why campaigns still spend a small fortune on direct mail. They’re not targeting younger voters with those mailers.
The organizations that I refer to as mainstream media are still — as the definition states — very much prevailing. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact backed up with numbers. Not only does the description remain most valid, it provides an easy shorthand for something that I write about a lot. It’s much easier to write “mainstream media” at the beginning of a column, then use “MSM” for the remainder.
One reason that I’m still so energized keeping this my focus for political writing is that the media landscape is shifting rapidly. Conservative media is making headway despite the ongoing efforts from mainstream and social media to shut us down. It’s a long battle, because the the MSM had such a strong foothold to begin with. If we weren’t making progress on this side, I’d probably be a beer blogger now.
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