When Donald Trump won a surprise victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016, the news media was a major beneficiary, as viewers stayed tuned to cable news and readers signed up for newspaper subscriptions in large numbers.
Eight years later, Trump’s near-certain White House victory could further boost audience interest in news — at least in the short term — numerous experts said.
Cable news ratingsSubscriptions to digital news organizations and philanthropic donations will likely increase, as audiences sort through the news-intensive post-election period.
“Trump 2.0 will likely be a very different administration than we’ve seen before,” said Frank Cesno, a professor at George Washington University and former Washington bureau chief for CNN. “It will carry immense consequences and news value. It will excite the right-wing media, and it will terrify the left.”
The New York Times, The Washington Post and other newspapers saw a sudden surge in subscriptions in 2016 as readers reeled from the results of Trump’s early victory. Those news organizations capitalized on that surge with advertising campaigns embracing new readers and, in the case of The Washington Post, adopted a slogan that underscored a commitment to aggressive reporting: “Democracy dies in darkness.”
David Clinch, a revenue consultant for Media Growth Partners, a media advisory firm, said he thinks news organizations will see another increase in subscribers, but it will be more muted than before. Trump administrationBecause some readers are bored or tired of mainstream news coverage.
Clinch said he expects news organizations to begin fine-tuning marketing campaigns to reach specific readers.
It can already start. Swati Sharma, editor-in-chief and publisher of Vox.com, emailed readers asking for donations, emphasizing the site’s “fearless journalism” and “clear reporting.” A Trump victory will also likely result in an increase in philanthropy giving to news organizations, particularly those that serve as watchdogs for powerful political and corporate interests, said Richard Tofel, former president of ProPublica, an investigative reporting nonprofit.
Other potential beneficiaries of the high-intensity news cycle following Trump’s victory are podcasters and other online creators, whom both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris embraced during the run-up to the election, said Red Seat Chief Executive Chris Balfe. Ventures, a media company that produces podcasts. Balfe said Trump’s appearances on podcasts including “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “This Past Weekend with Theo Vaughan,” as well as Harris’ appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, are signs of the growing power of influential outside voices. Mainstream media will only continue to grow in the wake of elections.
Even as viewers tune in for the aftermath of the election, TV ratings are in terminal decline, and a Trump victory is unlikely to change that, Cesno said.