Pete Vernon

While much of the media remains focused on President Donald Trump’s summit with Putin in Helsinki, an eventful week for media companies has set in motion changes that may alter how Americans get their news. In the past several days, Disney has bested Comcast in the battle for 21st Century Fox, Sinclair’s takeover of Tribune Media was torpedoed by the Federal Communications Commission, and the Justice Department attempted to block the AT&T–Time Warner merger that is already underway.

Rarely has President Donald Trump waged such a sustained campaign against a single entity as he has with recent broadsides against The Washington Post. Over the past week, Trump has repeatedly tweeted about the Post, its owner Jeff Bezos, and Amazon, the company that made Bezos his fortune. Bezos has remained silent and leadership at the Post restrained in the the face of the criticism, but April 5 the paper published a long story exploring the president’s charges and rebutting them at every turn.

Whereas all modern presidents have spun information—even lied—the reality TV star President-elect Donald Trump actively obstructs a fact-based public debate like no other before him. Whereas all have attempted to take their messages directly to supporters, Trump has a unique gift for using tools that do so almost instantaneously. Whereas all have sought to limit press access to suit their political ends, Trump’s relationship with the truth has called the very value of access into question. And whereas all have railed against the press in the face of negative coverage, Trump has portrayed the media as a political foil he’s actively trying to defeat.

In the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration, Columbia Journalism Review spoke with political journalists who will cover the incoming administration and reporters and historians who’ve chronicled its predecessors. They collectively painted a foreboding picture of journalism in the Trump era, even if some claimed to hold out hope that journalists will weather the coming storm.

[Commentary] President-elect Donald Trump operates his Twitter feed as a virtual Statler and Waldorf, reigning judgment on the media and individual journalists like a Muppet in the rafters. Trumpian tweets often appear soon after a negative story has run about him or his business, especially in the case of cable news, hinting at the president-elect’s viewing habits (lots of CNN). Occasionally, Trump dispenses plaudits for a piece, but he is more likely to hiss and boo, heckling journalists from his perch. American presidents have long made their media preferences known. Richard Nixon spent Sunday afternoons watching the NFL; Barack Obama snagged advanced screeners of HBO’s Game of Thrones. But never have we had a leader so interested—some might say obsessed—with journalistic critiques. At CJR, we’ve combed through Trump’s 189 (and counting…) tweets since the election, focusing on those that highlight his touchy takes on the press.

Innovation comes in many forms. Popular imagination often bends toward the idea of isolated genius: Thomas Edison toiling away at Menlo Park, discovering 10,000 ways not to make a lightbulb; Steve Jobs sketching the smooth contours of the iPod. For many of today’s media leaders, innovation means looking beyond the horizons of their internal headquarters. From virtual reality to advertising technology to, yes, television for dogs, the major media players we analyzed have cast a wide net in their attempts to reach new audiences and develop groundbreaking products. The following graphics showcase the investments and acquisitions of 15 leading media companies and social networks, revealing strategies and some surprising results.

When CBS Chairman Les Moonves said that the Donald Trump phenomenon “may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS,” he likely didn’t imagine his comment would apply to the entire news industry come December. While many in the media have expressed concerns over the impact a Trump Administration could have on press freedoms, the president-elect’s influence already is boosting news organizations’ bottom lines.

The New York Times said it signed up 10,000 new subscribers per day several times since the election, and the past few weeks recorded a 10-fold increase in new subscriptions over the same period last year. “Often after an election you expect a lull,” Times president and CEO Mark Thompson said recently. “We’re not seeing that, we’re seeing a surge.”