The apocalypse of traditional media

"Quality media" is declining in both audience numbers and financial stability, and there's no clear prospect of reversing these declines as the media ecosystem itself continues to erode. The old news model is unlikely to survive much longer in its current form.

According to a real-time TV advertising tracker (source: iSpot.tv), the pharmaceutical industry spent $5,15 billion on television advertising in the U.S. last year. Ultimately, the pharmaceutical dollars that have sustained the industry will dwindle significantly as television news becomes less prominent. By May 2025, pharmaceutical ads accounted for nearly 25% of advertising minutes on all major cable and broadcast networks (NBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and Fox News).

So far, pharmaceutical advertising hasn't withdrawn en masse from television news. Nevertheless, there's a possibility that the industry is considering this possibility. Currently, news remains one of the few strongholds for pharmaceutical advertising revenue, but this dominance is no longer assured. In fact, the Trump administration has clearly signaled its intention to crack down on pharmaceutical advertising, particularly in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) segment, which is traditionally seen on television and other broadcast media.

The most important measures and proposals currently being discussed include:

• Making DTC advertising more expensive: The government is considering eliminating tax deductibility for direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising. This would significantly increase the costs for drugmakers participating in such campaigns (1, 2)
• Increasing regulatory hurdles: Proposals are currently being considered to require more detailed disclosure of drug side effects in advertising, which will likely result in longer and more costly ad placements (1, 2)
• No complete ban yet: Although a complete ban on DTC pharmaceutical advertising is not currently planned, likely due to potential legal challenges related to the First Amendment, the focus is on tightening legal and financial restrictions rather than an immediate ban
• High-level support: Key government officials, including Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have publicly called for a ban on pharmaceutical advertising on television, and President Trump has criticized pharmaceutical advertising in the past (3). Such positions have contributed to the momentum behind the regulatory proposals.
• Legislative support: There is bipartisan interest in stricter regulation of pharmaceutical advertising. Senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King have introduced legislation that would ban direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising in all major media outlets (1).

Trends in the news industry point to both a decline in the importance of this medium and declining ratings for traditional television. This has also led to a more conservative orientation of cable news programming, which is only now beginning to take effect.

Fox News continues to dominate the cable news ratings, maintaining its lead over NBC/MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN. For the week of May 12, 2025, the network hosted 99 of the 100 top-rated cable news programs. In comparison, MSNBC and CNN suffered significant declines in viewership: MSNBC saw a 29 percent decline in total viewers and 40 percent in key demographics in prime time, while CNN saw a 16 percent decline in total viewers and XNUMX percent in prime time.

CBS was purchased by conservative David Ellison, who had fired Stephen Colbert. David Ellison is an American film producer, former actor, and founder and CEO of Skydance Media, a major entertainment company. He was born on January 9, 1983, in Santa Clara County, California, to Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison and Barbara Boothe Ellison. The official change of ownership at CBS has not yet taken place, so Stephen Colbert's firing may or may not have been at Ellison's request. However, the suspicious timing leads many to suspect that Ellison was involved in the firing decision.

All federal subsidies to PBS and NPR, including their local affiliates, were eliminated by recent congressional votes. Trump has not yet signed the repeal package, but it was submitted to him for his signature after final congressional passage. This will result in a significant reduction in local programming, but national programming is expected to be preserved thanks to other revenue streams.

NBC/MSNBC are being spun off from Comcast. Mark Lazarus is the new CEO of Versant, the soon-to-be publicly traded company that was spun off from NBC Universal. Versant (formerly SpinCo) will now operate above MSNBC. Versant's new boss, Lazarus, has indicated in private communications that the public perception of MSNBC is that Republicans aren't given a fair chance by the network. He wants to change that (4) and has suggested that the network offer more balanced viewpoints. However, MSNBC's current CEO is still very progressive, so time will tell what influence Lazarus will have on MSNBC's programming.

CNN will be spun off as an independent company from the streaming and studio operations of Warner Bros./Discovery. CNN is currently conducting extensive layoffs and has already announced sweeping programming changes for 2025. Whether CNN will move in a center-right direction, however, remains uncertain. In June 2025, the Washington Post, under Jeff Bezos's leadership, appointed Adam O'Neal, the former Washington correspondent for the Economist, as its new head of opinion. O'Neal emphasized an optimistic philosophy and a focus on personal freedom and free markets, reflecting Bezos's vision.

The editorial direction of the Los Angeles Times changed dramatically in late 2024 and 2025 under the leadership of Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Key developments include a shift toward "fair and balanced" and the dismissal and restructuring of the entire editorial staff. Under Soon-Shiong, the LA Times announced an explicit focus on conservative, centrist, and liberal voices. Soon-Shiong also expressed a desire to give more consideration to conservative voices in the Times' opinion section, citing concerns that the paper had become an "echo chamber" for the political left (5).

Most mainstream media outlets recognize that gaining an audience is key to the survival of this industry. As a more conservative mood takes hold among the population, mainstream media is slowly but surely being forced to keep up. People don't want to hear a one-sided, progressive primal scream from their televisions. If they don't change their blatantly socialist, DEI stance, they will continue to wither away.

Likewise, the seamless merging of cable networks with streaming services will be the future of the industry. But here, too, liberal voices must be silenced, as they do not represent the center, let alone the conservative voice. Without relevance, cable news is a dying dinosaur and will be replaced. The king starves and whistles: Long live the new king—the alternative media.

(via Malone News)