4 ms·

The problem is, leftist opinion rags are a very saturated market. Really hard to stand out there, when nearly all of the mainstream media is catering to the sa

The problem is, leftist opinion rags are a very saturated market. Really hard to stand out there, when nearly all of the mainstream media is catering to the same half of the population. That’s how Murdoch built his empire, conservative leaning media is a nearly unopposed market.

RcouF1uZ4gsC 3y ago
The Trump presidency was the resource curse of news media. It was so easy to get people outraged and rage reading, that it skewed news’ business models.
- JohnClark1337 3y ago
  [dead]
Martinussen 3y ago
Isn't it more like 70% of the country if you mean non-conservatives?
- lockhouse 3y ago
  I believe the breakdown in the US is roughly a third each of conservative, independent, and liberal.
larryfreeman 3y ago
I see the problem a different way. Murdoch was successful in many markets before starting Fox in the US. His formula was to go after the tabloid market with higher quality content (plenty of stories on scandals and beautiful/famous people, some conspiracy theories, and also quality content). Conservative media had been dominating talk radio and there was plenty of conservative media (Heritage Foundation, National Review) for conservative viewpoints before Fox. CNN (via Ted Turner) had shown that cable news could be profitable and Fox/Talk Radio have shown that rage media creates a loyal audience. It's not that mainstream media is liberal media as often claimed (I find much of establishment media: CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, People, etc. too superficial to be liberal or conservative -- it's just a business that tries to attract the establishment audience which tends to skew liberal). The real issue in my mind is that mainstream media has not been very good at rage media while Fox and Talk Radio have been virtuoso at it. Trump temporarily made it easy for CNN and MSNBC to thrive at rage media (all liberals could agree on their shock about Trump's actions), but without Trump, liberals naturally fall into infighting between progressives and establishment viewpoints (for example, Bernie Sanders versus Hillary Clinton or AOC versus James Carville)
- v0idzer0 3y ago
  The left has definitely learned rage media. Even after Trump. Musk is now the baddie of the month. Any other wealthy white male can easily fill the void when we reach peak Elon Musk clickbait. Nearly all world events are explained by racism or sexism. The entire woke movement is a direct result of left leaning news orgs battle for profits
  - larryfreeman 3y ago
    I am not saying that the left does not get outraged. I am saying that the mainstream media has not been able to capitalize on that rage for profit. That seems to me to be more the issue than an over-saturation of the liberal perspective or a lack of over-saturation of the conservative perspective. Talk radio and Fox news are highly popular. As I understand it, before he was fired, Tucker Carlson was the most watched news-related show. I agree that there are popular progressive and left-leaning shows that focus on outrage (John Oliver, Jon Stewart, etc.) but as I understand it, they are not as successful or popular as Fox News and conservative talk radio. My point was not that conservatives are more outraged than liberals (I suspect that each side sincerely believes that the other sides shows greater outrage). I just meant from a business perspective, it appears to me that the establishment cable news services are struggling to maintain audience loyalty which tells me that they are not as good as conservative media at taking advantage of audience outrage.

RcouF1uZ4gsC 3y ago

The Trump presidency was the resource curse of news media. It was so easy to get people outraged and rage reading, that it skewed news’ business models.

JohnClark1337 3y ago
[dead]

Martinussen 3y ago

Isn't it more like 70% of the country if you mean non-conservatives?

lockhouse 3y ago
I believe the breakdown in the US is roughly a third each of conservative, independent, and liberal.

larryfreeman 3y ago

I see the problem a different way. Murdoch was successful in many markets before starting Fox in the US. His formula was to go after the tabloid market with higher quality content (plenty of stories on scandals and beautiful/famous people, some conspiracy theories, and also quality content). Conservative media had been dominating talk radio and there was plenty of conservative media (Heritage Foundation, National Review) for conservative viewpoints before Fox. CNN (via Ted Turner) had shown that cable news could be profitable and Fox/Talk Radio have shown that rage media creates a loyal audience. It's not that mainstream media is liberal media as often claimed (I find much of establishment media: CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, People, etc. too superficial to be liberal or conservative -- it's just a business that tries to attract the establishment audience which tends to skew liberal). The real issue in my mind is that mainstream media has not been very good at rage media while Fox and Talk Radio have been virtuoso at it. Trump temporarily made it easy for CNN and MSNBC to thrive at rage media (all liberals could agree on their shock about Trump's actions), but without Trump, liberals naturally fall into infighting between progressives and establishment viewpoints (for example, Bernie Sanders versus Hillary Clinton or AOC versus James Carville)

v0idzer0 3y ago
The left has definitely learned rage media. Even after Trump. Musk is now the baddie of the month. Any other wealthy white male can easily fill the void when we reach peak Elon Musk clickbait. Nearly all world events are explained by racism or sexism. The entire woke movement is a direct result of left leaning news orgs battle for profits
- larryfreeman 3y ago
  I am not saying that the left does not get outraged. I am saying that the mainstream media has not been able to capitalize on that rage for profit. That seems to me to be more the issue than an over-saturation of the liberal perspective or a lack of over-saturation of the conservative perspective. Talk radio and Fox news are highly popular. As I understand it, before he was fired, Tucker Carlson was the most watched news-related show. I agree that there are popular progressive and left-leaning shows that focus on outrage (John Oliver, Jon Stewart, etc.) but as I understand it, they are not as successful or popular as Fox News and conservative talk radio. My point was not that conservatives are more outraged than liberals (I suspect that each side sincerely believes that the other sides shows greater outrage). I just meant from a business perspective, it appears to me that the establishment cable news services are struggling to maintain audience loyalty which tells me that they are not as good as conservative media at taking advantage of audience outrage.