There is something almost poetic about what is happening to the American media landscape right now. The more Donald Trump and his circle of oligarchs tighten their grip on mainstream media — CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Newsmax, TikTok, X, Truth Social — the clearer the picture actually becomes. Not because the propaganda gets better. Because it gets easier to spot.
When everything runs through the same hands, when the same interests control the message, the narrative becomes so uniform, so coordinated, that a simple rule of thumb starts to apply: if they say up, look down. Consolidation, ironically, is doing the work that media criticism has failed to do for decades. It is teaching people to read between the lines.
The Migration Is Already Happening
Here is what you may not have noticed yet: the journalists you trusted are leaving.
They are not retiring. They are not giving up. They are moving to the internet — to podcasts, to Substack, to independent platforms where no one can call them into an office and tell them what story to kill. Think of voices like Dan Rather or Robert Reich, commentators with decades of credibility who no longer need a network’s permission to speak.
What you find when you go looking for them is something mainstream media stopped offering a long time ago: honest commentary from people who no longer have to answer to Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, or Donald Trump.
The Money Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About
There is a catch, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. The internet does not come with a paycheck.
I know this firsthand. For over a year now, I have been doing this work — nearly full time. I am my own web designer. My graphic artist is AI and me. My research assistant is AI and me. And I have funded every bit of it out of my own pocket. I am not telling you this to ask for anything. I am telling you this because it is the reality facing most of the independent journalists you will find on platforms like Substack. They are doing it on their own dime, because they are journalists, and because they believe the work matters.
The lack of money is a problem without an easy answer. But it is also, in a strange way, a kind of protection. With money comes control. The moment someone else starts paying the bills, they start having opinions about the content.
How to Find the Truth — On Your Own Terms
I have not written off mainstream media entirely. I still check the headlines. I still scan the aggregators. And I have found that European media, in particular, often gives a clearer picture of what is actually happening here in the United States than our own outlets do. Distance has a way of sharpening perspective.
But if you want journalism that is working for you rather than for its owners, start looking around. Search out the independent voices. Find the podcasts. Read the Substacks. You will recognize good journalism when you find it — it will make you think, not just confirm what you already believe.
I will not tell you who to read or who to trust. That is your call to make.
