Legacy media is dying, and once famous American culture people now seem to be in the wind.
Once mega stars like Don Lemon and Jim Acosta were once CNN’s Jim Acosta, and former MSNBC anchors have left the network in recent years, leaving the world of podcasts and blogging.
Lemon, fired by CNN in 2024, raised an eyebrow when he tore the New York City subway system in late February.Labeled critic hat Desperate and Strange.
@donlemonLook at this photo…♬ It’s always sunny in Philadelphia (sense of seduction) [Main Title] – Theme System
Lemon told Daily Callner that it recreates popular trends, claiming that the video is simply an expression of joy it felt in post-network life.
“That’s really just what I’m enjoying,” Lemon said.
“I’m a multidimensional person like other people. I’m having a great time. People ask me if I’m ready to go back [to CNN] And I say no. I love what I do,” he told the caller.
But others pointed out that Lemon’s partisan past makes him difficult to escape.
“When you say something objectively crazy and act like a Rooney Toon, it’s difficult to connect with a wide audience,” CNN’s Scott Jennings told the caller. (Related: Don Lemon from CNN says the network was never liberal)
Jim Acosta, another of Lemon’s former CNN colleagues, appears to be handling the departure of his network even better.
After CNN attempted his move, Acosta left the network and pivoted to his Substack blog The rating is insufficient Shows from 10am to midnight to midnight Begged His media colleagues stop covering Trump.
“To say Trump shouldn’t be covered is just a slut dic,” said Dan Trenne, a former Democratic strategist who co-hosted “a popular interactive news program” with “.2-way” the platform told the caller.
“He is the president of the United States. He is the leader of our country, and we happen to be the most powerful country in the world. It’s ridiculous not to cover him. Just put your head in the sand and wait four years? For example, that’s just ridiculous,” he continued.
Acosta was rolling up quite a large following on the platform together. However, his partisan bends provide his coverage to certain silos of the political spectrum, limiting his wider scope.
Media Clipper shared The last hour podcast Acosta recorded featuring former Trump fixer Michael Cohen. The clip has less than 27,000 views on X as of Tuesday afternoon.
The inability of current and previous cable news stars to cover Trump objectively is likely a major factor in the decline in network ratings, Trenne noted.
“Many people in the media, many Democrats, and these two circles are concentric… I think they often think that they refuse to understand Donald Trump.
Trenne also noted that former network stars like Lemon and Acosta struggle to attract independent viewers as they try to adapt to the new media landscape.
“To show how much these powerful corporate liberals rely on staff in their 20s, you can essentially direct moves, tell them what you think and how you act,” Curtis Houck, managing editor at NewsBusters, told callers. “We just screamed that all these people were supporting them, and now they’re left to function for themselves, and that doesn’t seem too appetizing,” he continued.
However, one ending CNN personality was able to return to relevance at the back of a bipartisan approach.
CNN fired former star anchor Chris Cuomo during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the young Cuomo has risen to be a News Nation anchor and regularly hosts alternative voices on his eponymous show, “Cuomo.”
Small news networks pale compared to Fox News, CNN or MSNBC, but Cuomo Still landing A multi-year contract while maintaining a strong presence with independent circuits.
Turrentine’s two-way co-host Mark Halperin has also gained intrigue and investment in his new platform. A few years after NBC News kicked out longtime producers, Halperin created buzz for twice a day by engaging in every aspect of the political spectrum.
Other networks’ Emigres weren’t that lucky.
Chris Cillizza, who let go of CNN in 2022, is consistently available on Substack, but has fewer than 30,000 subscribers on the platform. Compared to popular independent reporters like Matt Taibi, who has over 500,000 subscribers and even Acosta, Siliza is behind.
“The number of people who were leaving CNN and chasing me closely has become subscribers who tracked me down to Substack and/or YouTube and immediately paid. Recognised In the subsack post.
Former top NBC anchor Chuck Todd, who hosted “Meet the Press” for almost 20 years, is trying to keep his name on Zeitgeist by enjoying a much worse rating than his previous employer by appearing as a regular guest on former competitor CNN.
Acosta, Lemon and even Joy Reid, whose subsacks were the best pages in the wake of her MSNBC’s Exodus, were able to bring a ton of power into their new independent home, but they have not made waves outside the online bubble. Few people seem to be looking at these former cable stars as a necessary part of the regular news diet. This is because they don’t do real journalism, Houck argues.
“IThey were serious independent journalists, where is the research work? asked Houck. “You’re watching Don Lemon, but all he’s doing is reading the comments section like a desperate teenage girl looking for affirmation.”
Houck pointed to visionary investigative journalism in the world of independent media such as Michael Shellenberger and Catherine Herridge. (Related: “Hip join”: Katherine Hellidge tells Tucker exactly how “tension” surged over the network)
Since leaving CBS, Emmy Award-winning investigators have launched their own independent investigation series. Websiteleveraging Elon Musk’s X platform use to reach a wide audience. Her recent unedited 40 minutes Interview Secretary of State Marco Rubio has earned nearly 9 million views on X alone.
“We live in the equivalent of the industrial revolution of legacy media,” Hellidge told the caller. “Not every on-air personality has the skill set that makes it in this extremely competitive market where original content is king and audience trust is everything. You need to gain and strengthen it, one at a time.”
Herridge’s Rubio interviews have been featured or covered by over 20 international outlets. Share X. Her Other Investigation Series Transgender surgery, terrorismHunter Biden and others have won millions of views and regularly placed her at the top of X’s trending tab.
The independent model she supports innovation is what in Houck’s eyes promotes true fair reporting.
“When people are willing to directly give hard-earned dollars to a particular personality, there is a higher standard or stick to getting into paying for content. A higher level of reliability is needed,” Houck said.
“Individual independent journalism – I think people who pay for the news by funding truly independent journalists will find it wiser to spend their money, and, if they have escaped, they see no reason to support them in masses.”
Herridge’s success warns the success of many of her independent competitors. I discovered a very active lemon on YouTube Medium success Viewers have yet to eclipse 1 million viewers on a single video since his firing.
Herridge competes with things like CNN and MSNBC, and has the views of a Rubio interview that will take CNN’s Total Primetime Viewers on Friday, March 7th for nearly 3 million. According to To adweek.
“These numbers represent stunning growth, global reach, dwarves linear and cable television. The challenge is monetization, but it comes with a powerful, fact-driven reporting product,” Herridge concluded.
