Legacy media is the problem, not you or Hugh.
Hugh Hewitt, a well-known conservative commentator and radio show host, stood up and left “First Look,” an online Washington Post show Nov. 1. Host Jonathan Capehart, a member of the Washington Post editorial board and host on MSNBC, attacked Hewitt for the conservative’s reporting and uninformed facts. After this exchange, Hewitt also quit as a contributing columnist for the Washington Post.
This contentious moment arose when Hewitt tried to explain why Trump and the Republican National Committee sued Bucks County, Pennsylvania during the early voting period. Hewitt wanted to give the entire story, attempting to explain that news should provide all details and not just pieces of information.
“This is the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of,” Hewitt said.
Some may view this as impolite and unprofessional, but what’s really unprofessional is the heated and accusatory tone Capehart took, showing once again the legacy media’s blatant bias for the Left.
According to the 2022 American Journalist Study, completed by professors at Syracuse University and Indiana University, only 3.4% of journalists said they were Republicans. In 2002, an earlier version of the study found that 18% of journalists identified as Republican.
Hewitt represents a part of the American electorate legacy media companies and their insider journalists never will, and he was right to storm off the show. Most Americans would have done the same.
Legacy media is corrupt and only factual when it is convenient for them. Although publications on the Right are misguided at times, the Left’s intentional refutation of facts and inclination towards biases are more pronounced. The mainstream media wants to indoctrinate the American public, and, as Election Day proved, that didn’t work this election cycle. The American people are smarter than the legacy media thinks.
Any broadcasted legacy media conversation involving conservatives pits the conservative commentators against both the liberal commentator and the host.
A prime example of this bias occurred during the presidential debates: In the ABC 2024 debate, President-elect Donald Trump had to debate vice president Kamala Harris and both ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis on “fact-checking” counts.
Such obvious bias comes back to bite legacy media. The Hill, a rising media source, recently reported that legacy media is declining. Just looking at the presidential race results shows this to be clear.
Trump and Harris both went onto podcasts to reach audiences rather than primarily appearing on mainstream platforms like ABC, CBS, and CNN. The effect of these podcast appearances in swaying certain demographics proves the days of legacy media dominating the narrative are over.
According to Newsweek, a weekly news magazine and online news outlet, CNN, ABC, NBC, and all other mainstream media networks all saw a decline in TV viewership on the night of the election. Viewership decreased for all of them, including Fox, which had the largest viewing audience during primetime coverage.
Commentators, politicians, and Americans are no longer beholden to the narratives pushed by the top five or ten media companies. Instead, smaller and outside-the-beltway podcasts are getting the attention they deserve. Outside the echo-chambers of New York City and Washington, D.C., these shows have the opportunity to meet the American electorate where it is.
You can be a part of this shift. Reject legacy media. Stop listening to the mainstream liberal talking points. Like Hewitt, stand up to the legacy bullies, voting with your clicks and website traffic. Liberal elitists at mainstream outlets aren’t part of the solution — you are.
Micah Hart is a senior studying politics
