There are many reasons why the second Donald Trump administration has been far more dangerous and destructive than the first. The Heritage Foundation came in ready with a playbook from day one; the tech overlord alliance with the far right infused MAGA with the “move fast and break things” ethic of Silicon Valley; eight years of Trumpification of the GOP ensured far fewer internal hurdles to reckless lawbreaking existed; a much more ideologically aligned Supreme Court paved the way to legalize what previously would have been lawless behavior; and Trump’s popular vote win provided him a greater veneer of institutional legitimacy in 2024 than he had in 2016 when he lost the popular vote.
But perhaps the greatest boon to Trump’s effort to erect a MAGA autocracy has been the unexpected capitulation of American institutions, especially the traditional media.
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ABC News and its parent, The Walt Disney Company, could have fought Trump’s weak defamation case over George Stephanopoulos’s technically inaccurate description of the E. Jean Carroll verdict (and very likely won) but instead agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s future presidential library and another $1 million to his lawyer, while posting a groveling editor’s note and ducking sworn depositions. Soon afterward, Disney and ABC briefly canceled Jimmy Kimmel after Trump officials and right-wing activists demanded his firing, only reinstating him after massive public outcry. The message to the White House was clear: make enough threats and the country’s premier broadcast news brands will fold, not fight.
CBS and its parent, Paramount, followed the same script. After initially calling Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit over a 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview an “affront to the First Amendment,” CBS’s owners quietly settled for $16 million (again routed to Trump’s library and legal fees) just as they were seeking regulatory approval for a merger with Skydance. The newly merged company then installed Bari Weiss, a culture warrior with no broadcast journalism background, as editor-in-chief of CBS News. Within days, she was asking 60 Minutes staff why the country thinks they’re “biased,” an echo of Trump’s long-running attacks. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’s Washington Post editorial board has endorsed all but four of Trump’s clearly unqualified cabinet nominees.
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This media capitulation is partly a story about monopoly and consolidation. Most of these corporate media players want federal approval for mergers and other related business issues.
But it’s also about attitude.
American democracy depends on a truth-telling media unafraid of threats and retaliation. Once that independence vanishes, obtaining real information and fearless perspectives about those wielding power, wealth, and influence will become impossible.
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All the best,
David Atkins
Contributing Writer
Washington Monthly
The post Corporate Media? In the Trump Era, We Need Independent Media More than Ever appeared first on Washington Monthly.
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