Weekly Roundup – October 15th, 2024

"In 2024, the media future doesn’t need to be seen through a glass darkly: For the younger generation of news consumers, it has basically arrived. But it isn’t embodied by cereal-eating YouTubers, Russian-funded disinformation operations or even the Silicon Valley-enforced progressive censorship that many conservatives feared four years ago.
Instead it’s embodied by the sex-and-relationships podcaster and the bro comedians who scored important interviews with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump this month — with the host of “Call Her Daddy,” Alex Cooper, tossing Harris questions about abortion and student loans, while the comics Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh chatted with Trump about his nicknaming strategy on their show, “Flagrant.”"

"Congress is expected to vote on the AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act later this year. The bill would require all new automobiles to be equipped with an AM radio tuner and accessible to listeners at no additional cost. The proposed law comes at a time when several electric vehicle models including those from Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW and Volvo have not made AM radio available. The reason cited is the electromagnetic signals in EV’s result in a distorted and low-quality sound on AM radio. Other EV models have been circumventing the issue by using cable shielding or placing the wires in an area that avoids the interference of AM radio."

"As cord-cutting continues to rise, one cable company is partnering with streaming platforms in an effort to keep its customers. Charter Communications announced Wednesday that its new, multiyear distribution deal with NBCUniversal — the parent company of NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, SYFY, and USA Network — will give subscribers free access to Peacock NBCUniversal’s streaming platform.
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The cable company already offers access to Disney, ESPN+, Paramount+, AMC+, BET+, ViX, Max, and Discovery+ to its Spectrum TV Select video customers."

"Americans continue to register record-low trust in the mass media, with 31% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” similar to last year’s 32%. Americans’ trust in the media -- such as newspapers, television and radio -- first fell to 32% in 2016 and did so again last year.
For the third consecutive year, more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (36%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount. Another 33% of Americans express “not very much” confidence.
Gallup first asked this question in 1972 and has measured it in most years since 1997. In three readings in the 1970s, trust ranged from 68% to 72%, yet by Gallup’s next readings in the late 1990s and early 2000s, smaller majorities of 51% to 55% trusted the news media. The latest findings are from a poll conducted Sept. 3-15, which includes Gallup’s annual update on trust in the media and other civic and political entities in the U.S."