In the United States, Harris and Trump favor influencers and podcasters over traditional mainstream media

It is a mourning to accept. The American presidential campaign is accelerating the erasure of the major traditional media, television channels and written press. A process that has already been visible for years, but which has taken on an unprecedented aspect in recent months. These media continue to play their role. They investigate, deploy their considerable staff in the field, track candidates, chronicle small sentences and big moments. But the evolution of the information landscape coincides with an incomparable political context.

The evolution is known: we obtain information in silos. In a powerfully polarized society, we prefer to listen to opinions consistent with our own, through circles of collusion on identity, ideology, politics, religion, etc. The presence of Kamala Harris, expected on Fox News on October 16, looks like an exceptional transgression. America has fallen into an era of fragmentation, where very powerful podcasts reign supreme, led by hosts proud of not being journalists. These are the new voices mainstream.

The political context is very particular. Both candidates have a problem with contradiction. This is particularly obvious with Donald Trump, who only thinks in terms of loyalty or hostility. At 78 years old, questions about his cognitive state are piling up. Kamala Harris, who entered the race late, does not shine in the classic interview exercise, during which she loses her naturalness. She also remembers Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, which was hopelessly classic. As during the mid-term elections two years ago, we are therefore in the presence of parallel campaigns, without national conversation. The absence of a second televised debate shortly before the vote means that everyone is trying to seduce voters segment after segment.

Limit unforeseen events and uncomfortable situations

The press accredited to the White House feels a long-standing frustration. Joe Biden’s entourage had put the president under confinement, to limit interactions with journalists and avoid questions about the deterioration of his cognitive and physical abilities. Kamala Harris also tries to limit unforeseen events and uncomfortable situations. No substantial interview is granted to the daily written press, nor to the weekly Timewhich nevertheless made its traditional headline about the president who would be the Democrat. Donald Trump responded to this request. For Kamala Harris, this express campaign is not an interview of skills in front of experts – it would reveal continuity with the Biden era and his pragmatism – but an examination of personality in front of the general public.

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