Trump's MAGA-fication of the White House press
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is on a mission to shake up the media industry and political journalism, in favor of President Donald Trump.
💬 Here are our quick CONVERSATION STARTERS this week:
Who are these “new media” journalists transforming the way the White House communicates?
Mike Allen, Matt Boyle, John Ashbrook, Sage Steele, Chris Pavlovski, John Stoll, Shelby Talcott, Mary Margaret Olohan, Saagar Enjeti, Kellie Meyer, Katie Pavlich, Lyndsay Keith, Mark Halperin, Jasmine Wright, Jordan Berman, and Matthew Foldi
A new era of MAGA-friendly journalists
On January 31, barely 10 days after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt introduced the first “new media seat” in the briefing room.
Since then, 16 “new media” reporters — including from well established outlets — participated and the number of requests have since grown.
“We are at more than 12,000 and counting,” Leavitt said a few days later, on February 5, the last time she provided an update on the number of submissions.
“The White House has handpicked which news media outlets can participate in the presidential press pool, and on Tuesday [last week] it eliminated a slot reserved for reporters from independent newswires,” the New York Times reports. “In the briefing room, officials have made room for a new cohort of more partisan attendees, like right-wing podcasters, who often ask less-adversarial questions than traditional journalists. The White House has said it is adjusting the makeup of the press that covers it — both in and out of the briefing room — to better reflect the outlets where people consume news and information today.”
Using the above two images and the chart below, the New Times explains: “The room’s seating chart reflects a news outlet’s perceived importance. Journalists who sit in the front rows typically have more of their questions addressed by the press secretary. If it reorganizes the seating chart, the White House could continue to lessen the influence of legacy news organizations and boost newer and often more partisan media outlets that have shown support for the administration’s policies.”
According to CNN’s Brian Stelter: “In recent weeks, the White House has invited hyperpartisan pro-Trump websites and relatively low-rated TV networks into the pool. ‘I love this guy’, Trump gushed on Friday when an employee of the far-right channel One America News offered a compliment disguised as a question.”
Stelter adds: “Leavitt has also promoted right-wing podcasters and heterodox writers at her press briefings by turning a seat formerly occupied by a White House aide into a ‘new media seat’.”
At the same time, Trump’s White House has:
started the process to eliminate funding for public media like NPR and PBS
banned the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One
sued CBS News of deceptively editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris
This new approach, according to Axios, “yields more supportive questions, fortifying the MAGA media ecosystem from the inside out.”
Who are these “new media” journalists transforming the way the White House communicates?
The first two “new media” reporters were introduced on January 31: Mike Allen, co-founder and executive editor of Axios, and Matt Boyle, Political Editor for Washington, D.C. in the Breitbart News Network.
Allen and Boyle were followed by a series of mostly right-wing reporters and outlets, but also some more mainstream “new media.”
Here is how Leavitt introduced them:
John Ashbrook, Ruthless Podcast
So, in this seat today we have the Ruthless Podcast. They humbly started by entertaining small audiences on Capitol Hill, but after four years, this program has become one of the most influential podcasts in America.
They previously reached number one on the charts and earned over 25 million downloads as they deliver political news with a humorous touch.
The hosts are Josh Holmes, Michael Duncan, Comfortably Smug, and the man joining us today, John Ashbrook.
Sage Steele, ESPN
And in the seat today, we have a longtime national television broadcaster. I'm sure many of you recognized her when she came in.
Sage Steel, who is now the host of an incredibly successful podcast, the Sage Steel Show on YouTube and all podcast platforms, and previously, Sage was a fixture at ESPN from 2007 to 2023.
Primarily hosting Sports Center, which we all know well, before leaving the company to exercise her first amendment rights more freely. We are honored to welcome her to the Briefing Room today.
Chris Pavlovski, Rumble
So, here in our new media seat today we have Chris Pavlovski, an entrepreneur who has a strong passion for protecting freedom of speech.
Chris started the video sharing platform Rumble in 2013 with a mission of protecting a free and open internet from censorship by big tech and governments around the globe.
The platform has always been a place for independent creators to share their authentic opinions and that they have always included President Trump, in contrast to the way he was censored by other platforms in years past.
Since its founding, Rumble has grown exponentially, recently marking 67 million monthly active users. It's a lot of users.
If you're watching right now and interested in sitting in this seat, you can apply, WhiteHouse.gov/newmedia.
John Stoll, X
We do have somebody in our new media seat today. We have John Stoll, who is the head of news at X.
As you all know — you’re all on X — it’s home to hundreds of millions of users, a large contingent of independent journalists and news organizations across geographies and political spectrums. And, at the same time, X remains the go-to platform for many legacy news outlets.
And I know, as I mentioned, many of the reporters in this room use X to attract eyeballs to your work.
Prior to joining X, John spent two decades in journalism, including several years as an editor at The Wall Street Journal. We are excited to have him in the briefing room today.
Shelby Talcott, Semafor
In our new media seat today, we have Shelby Talcott, who is a White House reporter for Semafor.
In 2022, Semafor launched as a global digital news platform with the aim of bringing meaningful innovations to the news industry. Today they have nearly 1 million newsletter subscribers spanning 11 separate editions.
Mary Margaret Olohan, The Daily Wire
In our new media seat today Mary Margaret Olohan, who is The Daily Wire's first ever White House correspondent. Congratulation Mary Margaret!
The Daily Wire was founded 10 years ago by Ben Shapiro. The Daily Wire now has over 1 million paid subscribers monthly. The network reach of 138 million and has evolved into a leading conservative multimedia giant. They are now the fifth largest podcast Network in the world and home to some of the top ranked shows.
Saagar Enjeti, Breaking Points
Before introducing Enjeti, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed out about the recent editorial changes announced by Jeff Bezos at the Washington Post: “And lastly, before I take questions, I would like to commend the Washington Post, who I believe is in the room today. According to a new report from Axios, the Washington Post is overhauling their newsroom structure. It appears that the mainstream media including the Post, is finally learning that having disdain for more than half of the country who supports this president does not help you sell newspapers. It's not a very good business model, and that's why we have people in our new media seat.”
And today we have Saagar Enjeti, who is the host of Breaking Points, a popular political YouTube news and podcast show that has racked up nearly one billion views on YouTube, several hundred million podcast downloads since its launch in June 2021.
He's also a former member of the White House Correspondents' Association, but is now a part of the thriving independent media.
Kellie Meyer, NewsNation
Kellie Meyer. She is a White House correspondent with NewsNation. NewsNation started in 2021, and is one of America's fastest growing cable news networks, with a focus on news for all of America.
It's part of a larger ecosystem, Nexstar, which is home to NewsNation, the political website, The Hill, the broadcast network, The CW, and local Nexstar stations.
Katie Pavlich, Townhall.com
Here in our new media seat today, we have Katie Pavlich. Katie is the editor of Townhall.com, which is a subsidiary of Townhall Media.
It's a leading conservative news and opinion outlet based right here in Washington, D.C with writers and journalists reporting around the country.
Last year, Townhall Media had 60 million unique users and 1.4 billion page views with a broad reach on a number of social media platforms.
Lyndsay Keith, Merit Street
Here in our new media seat today, we have Lyndsay Keith. She is the managing editor for Merit TV and serves as their White House correspondent.
Merit TV launched one year ago and creates and distributes content across diverse platforms.
Mark Halperin, 2WAY
In our new media seat today is Mark Halprin, the co-founder and editor-inchief of 2WAY, a new live video platform that builds communities around interactive conversations with leaders and content creators from every subject area.
They have over 37.5 million video views over 3.6 million watchtime hours since the platform began just last year.
When introducing Halpering, Trump’s press secretary also added: “This is new media in its truest sense, allowing the people to ask questions make comments and be an active part of engagement on the most important issues facing the country and our world .
Jasmine Wright, NOTUS
Here in our new media seat today, we have Jasmine Wright, the White House reporter for NOTUS.
NOTUS is a nonprofit and nonpartisan news site, which launched in early 2024. They've gained millions of readers across the country since. The newsroom's goal is both to inform readers and train the next generation of politics and policy journalists.
They also partner with state newsrooms to give local communities more knowledge of what their representatives are doing in Washington DC.
Jordan Berman, Unbiased Politics
Here in our new media seat today, we have Jordan Berman. Jordan is a social media content creator and influencer and a lawyer who grew up following, breaking down the news from a neutral perspective.
Jordan is the host of her own podcast called Unbiased Politics, where she dissects the top stories from the week from a legal perspective. Jordan focuses on bringing back real journalism from a nonpartisan perspective and has mastered explaining complex legal decisions to a mass audience in the short-form context.
Her two biggest platforms are TikTok and Instagram, where she has roughly half a million followers on each.
Matthew Foldi, Washington Reporter
We have a reporter in our new media seat today, Matthew Foldi — I like your boots, Matt — who is the editor-in-chief of the Washington Reporter.
Washington Reporter is a new fast-growing outlet that breaks stories about legislation and interviews leaders in Congress and across the administration, the publication's readership includes the highest levels of business in government.
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