For News Producers and Consumers, Competition Matters

Originally published at DCJournal.com

Much has been written about media fragmentation. A decade ago, a select few news producers reached vast swaths of consumers without feeling much of a disruption threat. Today, news production has splintered every which way, taking consumption along for the ride.

During the 2016 election, 71.4 million Americans watched election night coverage to see if Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton would emerge victorious. Four years later, the number plummeted to 56.9 million. Last November, viewership dropped to 42.3 million people. Within eight years, America’s election night coverage shed 30 million viewers.

This doesn’t mean that tens of millions of Americans suddenly care less about presidential politics. News consumption has shifted—American-style “TikTok” didn’t even exist in 2016. The vast majority of Millennials and Gen Zers, who grew up with media fragmentation, still receive news daily. And most want journalism to be, well, journalistic—authentic, intelligent and honest.

People are finding that in new ways. As a public relations expert, it is my job to track old-school and new-age news providers, and there are clear stand-outs. One is The Flyover, a media company that publishes 61 unique newsletters across 11 editions each week, including the “Feel Good Flyover”—a Friday round-up of good news across America. The Flyover also produces a daily podcast, which appeals to Americans with “Flyover Country” values who want common-sense news.

At a time when the media industry is struggling to keep up with shifting attention spans and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, The Flyover’s team includes dozens of full-time reporters, editors and other staffers, all of whom joined the company after April 2023. For people who feel ignored by the proverbial media elites, viable options like The Flyover didn’t exist 10 years ago, but they now cater to 21st-century news consumers—almost three million daily—who still need information. Daily, newsletter subscribers can find a compelling national story, a relevant state issue, or just feel-good reporting that doesn’t “bleed to lead.” The Flyover simplifies news consumption by compiling a long list of recent reporting into a single email.

Companies like The Flyover are expanding for a reason. They were created at least partly in response to increasing media distrust. According to recent polling, only 10 percent of Americans trust the media “a lot.” U.S. trust in mass media is now at its lowest point in more than five decades, so people are desperate for alternatives to the traditional power players.

Long gone are the days when Walter Cronkite dominated the news landscape with little competition. Whether the focus is left-leaning, right-leaning, or “centrist” journalism, there are now dozens of options per audience segment. This presents new challenges (including digital misinformation, foreign interference, clickbait, and more), but today’s journalists and media organizations cannot rest on their laurels. There are too many alternatives for Americans to consider when they see one source engage in shoddy, biased reporting. The smart journalists, who fill an essential niche in American democracy, will double down on high-quality reporting to catch clicks. And we will all reap the benefits—quality begets more quality.

If the likes of CNN, Fox News or MSNBC come up short, they will lose readers, listeners and viewers. That’s why people have switched to alternative sources as “the next stop” on their journey of news consumption.

Market competition will drive old-school power players to deliver better journalism. If the popularity of Joe Rogan as the world’s top podcaster fails to encourage more in-depth, varied forms of interviewing at CNN, Fox News and MSNBC (including guests of various political persuasions), the traditional gatekeepers will lose out, and we will too. The value of the five-minute interview is limited.

For better or worse, “The Joe Rogan Experience” and other podcasts have gained a strong foothold—by the millions—because the masses perceive their hosts as authentic, intelligent and honest. Our same values still hold: Many Americans perceived Cronkite in a similar way that Rogan is viewed today, and it is the blueprint for media competitors to gain market share.

Media companies get the memo. So do dozens of other media alternatives, and consumers are taking notice. News producers should take notice, too, whether they are succeeding or struggling in a fragmented America.