United States | The muted megaphone

Donald Trump may find it harder to dominate America’s conversation

A more fragmented media is tougher to manage

Silhouette of Donald Trump speaking to the media outside the White House.
Fragmenter-in-chiefPhotograph: Getty Images
|6 min read

Donald Trump’s first term in office was a bracing experience for reporters, whom the president spent much of his time castigating. But it was a happier period for their bosses, who enjoyed a “Trump bump” in ratings and subscriptions. The second Trump term promises to be different. Old-school television viewership has collapsed as audiences flip to entertainment-focused streaming. At the same time the social-media landscape, which Mr Trump once dominated with his Twitter megaphone, has fragmented. As political news is squeezed out of both old and new media, it is becoming harder to control America’s conversation.

Explore more

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The muted megaphone”

From the December 7th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
President Trump and Pam Bondi hold a press conference

Jeffrey Epstein is still causing trouble for Donald Trump

His administration cannot shake rumours of a cover-up—in part because MAGA types enthusiastically endorsed it

What went wrong in the Texas floods?

DOGE may not have been to blame but local politicians have a case to answer


Joe Rogan.

American men are hungry for injectable testosterone

A legion of new health clinics are serving it up


Trump embarrasses the Pentagon with a U-turn on Ukraine

His decision to resume arms shipments is a victory for common sense—while it lasts

ICE’s big payday makes mass deportation possible

What the controversial agency will do with even more funding