November 14, 2024 - 7:00pm

Liberal legacy media outlets are attempting to pivot to the political centre amid declining public trust, shrinking audiences, and tightening margins.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times announced that it is forming a new editorial board in an effort to win back trust. “When the President has won the vote of the majority of Americans then ALL voices must be heard,” Pat Soon-Shiong, the outlet’s owner, wrote. “I will work towards making our paper and media fair and balanced so that all voices are heard and we can respectfully exchange every American’s view, from left to right to the center.”

It marks a significant change for the paper. The Los Angeles Times has previously published articles arguing in favour of mocking anti-vaxxers’ deaths and calling an African American Republican candidate “the black face of white supremacy”. But after years of endorsing Democratic candidates for president, the outlet announced last month that it would no longer make presidential endorsements, including in 2024.

The Washington Post made a similar announcement the same week, citing an interest in letting readers “make up their own minds”. Owner Jeff Bezos has reportedly been pushing to add more conservative writers to the publication.

The one exception to the sinking performance of legacy media has been the New York Times, which has been outperforming its peers, thanks in part to the popularity of its forays into games, sports coverage, and product reviews. But the outlet has also resisted pressure from activist groups, most notably by publishing reports critical of child gender transitions — a decision that resulted in protests from its own contributors and readers.

These changes come amid a challenging period for legacy media. On election night, Fox News and MSNBC had about 30% fewer viewers compared to 2020, while CNN saw a decline of roughly 50%. At the same time, Comcast is considering spinning off its cable networks, including MSNBC, while CNN is reportedly planning massive layoffs and Time magazine may be sold for a $40 million loss.

For some leaders in the industry, this business decline is closely related to falling trust in the media. “We must be accurate, and we must be believed to be accurate. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we are failing on the second requirement,” Bezos wrote last month of his paper’s decision not to endorse in 2024. He has experienced significant pushback from his own staff, including several public resignations, over a perception that neutrality represents an abdication of responsibility.

Outlets also face considerable pressure to cover stories from a Left-wing perspective from their own readers and from activists online. Both the LA Times and WaPo saw a massive spike in subscription cancellations following their non-endorsement announcements — as much as 10% of subscribers for the latter outlet.

This dynamic came up during an internal New York Times meeting, in which leadership pushed back against outside critics who accused the outlet of covering Trump too gently, according to leaked audio reported by Semafor. “What they’re interested in is having us be a mouthpiece for their already predetermined point of view,” the paper’s executive editor told staff. “That’s what the most vocal critics are asking for. They’re asking us to do a better job projecting their point of view to more people. That of course is not our role.”


is UnHerd’s US correspondent.

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