Where We Are

Abstract

This chapter examines the political and media environment during the presidency of Donald Trump. The first half considers how various political forces aligned to provide an opening for Trump. This includes the polarization of the voting public and a hardening of political identity. These conditions, in connection with global political trends, enabled a right-wing populist movement. The second half of the chapter considers the journalistic context, with an emphasis on how increasing media choice and new intermediaries like social media platforms altered how news circulates and who gets to speak. These structural shifts are coupled with long-running trends pointing to declining trust in journalism, a growing partisan divide in how journalists are viewed, and a questioning of how various communities are represented in the news. On top of all this, the news industry has struggled to develop sustainable digital business models, leading to fewer resources for reporting.