It's clear that high grocery prices, concerns about immigration, and Biden's poor debate performance (even though Harris was the ultimate candidate) all contributed to Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election.
It's also clear that Fox News played an instrumental role in swaying the minds of millions of voters (despite the fact that in April of 2023 Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit, which should make any reasonable, rational person question the political propaganda that Fox News spews out).
AMERICA NEEDS A LIBERAL ALTERNATIVE TO FOX NEWS!
And that alternative must be able to reach reasonable-minded voters who aren't inextricably tied to Trump.
This point was succinctly addressed by progressive talk show host Brian Tyler Cohen in a November 6 post-election update where he said the following:
The right has a propaganda machine at its disposal that hums on for 24 hours a day, on TV, and radio, and TikTok, and Facebook, and YouTube, Rumble, and Discord servers everywhere that pump out right-wing propaganda on an endless loop.
The top 20 podcasts in America include Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Theo Von, Dan Bonino, Candace Owens, Megan Kelly, and Ben Shapiro. You know who who we've got on the left on that list? The Daily Show and Pod Save America.
All the while Democrats continue, for some reason unbeknownst to me, to pretend that mainstream media is some partner in democracy - that they are on our team. I don't know how much clearer I can say this: They are not on our team. Corporate media exists to serve its shareholders. It is a business before it's anything else, certainly before it's some protector of democracy
We desperately need a left-wing media ecosystem that rivals what they have on the right, and we desperately need our politicians and thought leaders to embrace that idea.
Source:
Cohen, Brian Tyler. (November 6, 2024). "Post-election UPDATE from Brian Tyler Cohen". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-12-17
In addition to the right-wing podcasts Cohen mentioned, I would add Charlie Kirk, and also mention OAN, Newsmax, RSBN, The Western Journal, and The Arizona Sun Times .
In addition to the left-wing podcasts Cohen mentioned, I would add Rachel Maddow (MSNBC), Jen Psaki (MSNBC), and of course Brian Tyler Cohen.
Proving Cohen's point about mainstream media not being on "our team," look no further than Time selecting Trump as "2024 Time Person of the Year," posting a photo of him on the magazine cover, along with an extensive interview.
Add to that ABC News agreeing to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump against George Stephanopolous when it's clear that ABC News had a very good chance to win the case.
'It's Frightening': ABC News Staffers Incensed by 'Capitulation' to Trump | Rolling Stone
On November 17 Cohen reiterated what he said on November 6:
Legacy media [mainstream media] is not on our team and the Democratic party. They are not here to save us. They are not in the Democracy business. CNN is in the CNN business. The Washington Post is in the Washington Post business. ABC is in the ABC business. These are corporate entities that are out there to make money for themselves and to serve their shareholders, and if that means they're going to sacrifice our democracy in service of just that much more access to a wannabe desperate like Trump, then so be it. Clearly the flashy slogans about protecting democracy are window dressing,
Source:
Cohen, Brian Tyler. (November 17, 2024). "BREAKING: Trump pulls SHOCK move in court". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-12-18
I suggest that what we need is a person (or a small group of people) that believes in liberal values, that is highly motivated, with unlimited financial resources and a vision to buy out one of the major mainstream media outlets (ABC News, CBS News, or NBC News) and mirror, from a liberal perspective, what Rupert Murdoch and his cohorts have done at Fox News.
Perhaps that someone is George Soros, or Warren Buffet, or some other extremely wealthy entrepreneur who cares enough about America to make this happen.
Imagine people like John Stewart, Rachel Maddow, Brian Tyler Cohen, Jen Psaki, and others having one-hour shows on a major television network, multiple times each week (mirroring the Fox News programs with Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, Jesse Waters, Mark Levin, and others). Imagine how that might expose millions upon millions of viewers to liberal points of view and liberal talking points, and how it would serve to counter the disinformation disseminated by Fox News.
If this doesn't happen, Fox News (and the vast array of others) will continue to lie, exaggerate, mislead, and deceive the American public with only minimal push back from existing, lesser known liberal sources.
Someone needs to step up, and the sooner the better because it will take a long time to make this happen and for it to have an impact.