Trump’s Win Highlights a New Media Order

Summary

WSJ What’s News Episode Summary Episode Title: Trump’s Win Highlights a New Media Order
Release Date: November 11, 2024
Host/Author: The Wall Street Journal

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1. Donald Trump's Election Victory and Political Implications

Election Results and Political Control
Donald Trump's recent election victory solidified his dominance by winning Nevada and Arizona, completing his sweep of all seven battleground states and securing a total of 312 electoral college votes. This triumph places significant momentum in his favor as he moves forward in shaping the political landscape.

House and Senate Races
Ballot counting remains ongoing in several critical House races, particularly in California, which will ultimately determine control of the chamber. Currently, Republicans hold a 214 to 203 seat advantage but need 218 seats for a majority. The pivotal Senate race in Arizona sees Democrat Ruben Gallego leading Republican Kerry Lake. A Gallego win would result in a 53 to 47 Senate majority for Republicans.

GOP Leadership and Recess Appointments
Republican senators are preparing to vote on a new leader in the near future. While Trump has not officially endorsed a candidate, he has insisted that the new leader must allow him to push through some of his nominees for key positions using recess appointments, bypassing congressional opposition. This directive has influenced the top leadership contenders—Florida Senator Rick Scott, South Dakota Senator John Thune, and Texas Senator John Cornyn—to support the concept. As a result, Rick Scott, previously considered a long shot, has emerged as a favorite among Trump allies.

Appointment of a Border Czar
Trump has appointed Tom Homan, the former head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as the federal "border czar." In this role, Homan is tasked with spearheading a mass deportation effort, aligning with Trump's pledge to deport up to 20 million people, potentially under a national emergency declaration that would enable the use of military assets for detaining and removing migrants.

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2. Transformation of the American Media Landscape

Shift from Traditional to New Media
Trump's election victory has underscored a significant transformation in how Americans consume news. Traditional cable news is experiencing a decline in viewership and influence, particularly among younger demographics. Isabella Simonetti, covering television and streaming for the Journal, highlights that while cable news remains pivotal for older viewers, younger audiences are migrating towards podcasts, TikTok, news influencers, and social media for their news consumption.

Notable Quotes:

• Isabella Simonetti [04:39]: “Cable news viewership overall is down from its peaks during COVID. Fox News, which is the leader in cable news and also shares common ownership with The Journal, averaged 2.7 million primetime viewers in October.”
• Isabella Simonetti [05:44]: “Podcasts listeners and new media listeners and those circles are even more partisan than cable. So it also means that people are sticking to their own silos that verify or feed into their existing political beliefs instead of necessarily watching things that challenge their assumptions.”

Media Strategies in the Election Cycle
Both major candidates, Harris and Trump, strategically utilized podcasts and influencers to reach younger voters. Harris appeared on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy", a podcast popular among young women, while Trump featured on Joe Rogan's podcast, which garnered over 45 million YouTube views and more than 25 million Spotify listens. During his victory celebration, Trump acknowledged numerous podcasters and influencers, emphasizing their role in his campaign strategy.

Elon Musk's Influence
Post-election, Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, expressed support for citizen journalism. He tweeted, “You are the media now,” suggesting a shift towards individuals disseminating news, reflecting a skepticism towards traditional media's accuracy, especially regarding Trump's unexpected landslide victory.

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3. Russia’s Strategic Moves in the Global Oil Market

Potential Merger of Russian Oil Giants
Exclusive reporting indicates that Russia is contemplating a merger of its largest oil companies to form a behemoth second only to Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. The proposed merger would involve Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, and Lukoil, all of which are currently under U.S. sanctions. Such a consolidation aims to enhance efficiency, increase profit margins per barrel, and reduce production costs to better compete on the global stage.

Industry Adaptations and Challenges
Joe Wallace, a Journal reporter, explains that while the Russian oil industry has adapted to Western sanctions, challenges remain. Sanctions have limited Rosneft's capacity to profitably export and have hindered large-scale oil and gas projects essential for future production sustainability. A merger could potentially mitigate these issues by streamlining operations and incorporating advanced technologies to lower costs.

Official Responses and Denials
A Kremlin spokesperson denied knowledge of any merger plans. Similarly, Rosneft’s spokesman and Lukoil dismissed the reports, asserting that no merger negotiations are underway. Representatives for Gazprom Neft did not respond to inquiries, maintaining the ambiguity surrounding these purported discussions.

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4. Updates on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Escalation of Aerial Drone Warfare
Over the past weekend, both Moscow and Kyiv have intensified their use of aerial drones, launching record numbers against each other. This escalation occurs amidst Donald Trump's promise to end the conflict, raising hopes for potential peace talks.

Current Battlefield Developments
Russia continues its slow and steady advance along Ukraine's eastern front lines. The prolonged conflict shows no signs of abating as both nations seek territorial gains ahead of the anticipated inauguration of the Trump administration.

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5. UN COP 29 Climate Summit Proceedings

Focus on Financing the Energy Transition
The UN COP 29 Climate Summit, branded as the "finance COP," commenced with an emphasis on securing funding for transitioning away from fossil fuels to mitigate global warming. Yousef Khan, a sustainability reporter, notes that host countries like Azerbaijan and last year's UAE exporter fossil fuels continue to rely heavily on oil and gas revenues, viewing them as essential for funding renewable energy technologies.

Host Country’s Stance and Attendance Issues
Azerbaijan, the current host, remains unperturbed by its deep ties to the fossil fuel industry, advocating for continued exports to fund energy transitions. However, the summit is experiencing lower attendance this year—less than half of last year's turnout—as major banks and corporations send smaller delegations or abstain altogether. The shift is partly attributed to the uncertainty surrounding U.S. climate policy following Trump's election.

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6. Trade Tensions in Canada Affecting U.S. Markets

Lockouts at Canadian Ports
In Canada, dock workers in Montreal have rejected a new pay offer, prompting the Maritime Employers Association to declare a lockout, effectively halting cargo flows through the city's port—the country's second-largest. Additionally, efforts to end a separate lockout at ports in British Columbia are stalling.

Potential Spillover Effects on the U.S.
These disruptions in Canadian ports threaten to spill over into the United States, as shippers may divert goods to American coastal ports. This could result in trucker shortages, delivery delays, and increased costs, exacerbating supply chain challenges on both sides of the border.

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7. Market Insights and Upcoming Economic Indicators

Bitcoin Reaches New High
Bitcoin has surged to $82,000, marking a fresh record. The cryptocurrency market is anticipating a revival under Trump's administration, which has pledged to reduce regulatory burdens on crypto and establish a national bitcoin reserve.

Upcoming Economic Reports and Earnings
Investors are closely watching for the latest U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) update scheduled for Wednesday, followed by the October retail sales report on Friday. The week features a relatively light earnings calendar, with major companies like Home Depot, Tyson Foods, Spotify, and Disney set to release their quarterly results.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Isabella Simonetti [04:39]:
  “Cable news viewership overall is down from its peaks during COVID. Fox News, which is the leader in cable news and also shares common ownership with The Journal, averaged 2.7 million primetime viewers in October.”

• Isabella Simonetti [05:44]:
  “Podcasts listeners and new media listeners and those circles are even more partisan than cable. So it also means that people are sticking to their own silos that verify or feed into their existing political beliefs instead of necessarily watching things that challenge their assumptions.”

• Elon Musk [06:52]:
  “You are the media now.”

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Production Credits

• Produced by: Kate Bullivant and Daniel Bach
• Supervising Producer: Christina Rocca
• Host: Luke Vargas

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This episode of WSJ What’s News offers a comprehensive analysis of Donald Trump's electoral triumph and its far-reaching effects on American politics and media consumption. The discussion extends to global geopolitical shifts, particularly Russia's maneuvers in the oil sector and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, the episode delves into significant economic indicators and market movements, providing listeners with a thorough understanding of current events shaping the world.

Transcript

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[Luke Vargas]

Donald Trump taps a border czar as his transition efforts kick into high gear Plus, Trump's election victory highlights a drastic change in America's media landscape.

[Isabella Simonetti]

The differences in media consumption habits between younger viewers and older viewers are more clear now than they have ever been before.

[Luke Vargas]

And Russia eyes a mega oil merger that would tighten Vladimir Putin's grip on global energy markets. It's Monday, November 11th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of what's the top headlines and business stories moving your world days on from the US Election. Donald Trump was announced as the official winner of Nevada and Arizona over the weekend, completing his sweep of all seven battleground states and netting him a total of 312 electoral college votes. Meanwhile, ballot counting is continuing in several closely watched House races around the country, many of which are in California and which will decide control of the chamber. Republicans hold a 214 to 203 advantage but need 218 seats for a majority. The lone Senate race still uncalled is in Arizona, where Democrat Ruben Gallego is ahead of Republican Kerry Lake. And should he win, Republicans would control the Senate 53 to 47. GOP senators are set to vote on a new leader in the coming days, and while Trump hasn't issued an endorsement, he demanded over the weekend that whoever assumes the post should let him push through at least some of his nominees for key positions without a vote, a process known as recess appointments that would avoid possible congressional opposition. Those comments sent a jolt through the leadership campaign and prompted the three top candidates Florida Senator Rick Scott, South Dakota Senator John Thune and Texas Senator John Cornyn to all back the idea in some form. Scott, once seen as a long shot has emerged as a favorite of Trump allies, and the president elect has tapped Tom Homan, who oversaw U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump's first term, to spearhead a planned mass deportation effort in a role that Trump likened to that of a border czar. That comes as advisors of the incoming president continue to draw up plans for how to carry out his deportation pledge, which Trump has said would target as many as 20 million people, including weighing a national emergency declaration that would allow for military assets to be repurposed to detain and remove migrants. Well, Trump's election victory has also cemented big changes in the media landscape as Americans are now turning to many more outlets for their information while traditional media is shrinking in both reach and influence. Isabella Simonetti, who covers television and streaming for the Journal, told our Kate Bullivant that the way Americans get their news has changed profoundly.

[Isabella Simonetti]

So cable news viewership overall is down from its peaks during COVID Fox News, which is the leader in cable news and also shares common ownership with The Journal, averaged 2.7 million primetime viewers in October. MSNBC is in second place and CNN is in third place. Now, cable news is still a very important place where a lot of viewers, particularly older viewers, get their news and information. But among younger viewers who ended up being very important voting demographic in this election, they're now turning to podcasts and TikTok and news influencers and social media in order to inform their political political views and just to get their news.

[Kate Bullivant]

So how did we see this shift play out during the election cycle? And why does a Trump win cement this new media landscape?

[Isabella Simonetti]

We saw this play out during the election cycle through the media strategies of both Harris and Donald Trump. They both turned to podcasts and influencers to get their message out to younger viewers. Harris was on Alex Cooper's podcast Call Her Daddy, which is popular with young women. Trump did Joe Rogan, and that episode brought in more than 45 million views on YouTube and more than 25 million listens across Spotify. During his victory celebration, a lot of podcasters and influencers were mentioned and thanked. Trump also had Elon Musk in his corner, who recently purchased Twitter. So in this election and in every election, young viewers are incredibly important. But the differences in media consumption habits between younger viewers and older viewers are more clear now than they have ever been before.

[Kate Bullivant]

And this shift in where Americans, especially young Americans, get their news, what does it tell us?

[Isabella Simonetti]

So I think one way we can see that playing out is that I had one person who I spoke to, Alyssa Griffin, who worked in the Trump administration, who had noted that podcasts listeners and new media listeners and those circles are even more partisan than cable. So it also means that people are sticking to their own silos that verify or feed into their existing political beliefs instead of necessarily watching things that challenge their assumptions. After the election results became clear, Musk tweeted out to his followers and said, you are the media now, essentially that you're citizen journalists now. Because there's this feeling that traditional media got the story wrong in that they didn't anticipate that Trump would win in such a landslide because of the issues that ended up mattering most to voters.

[Kate Bullivant]

So this shift from traditional media to social media and influencer figures, does it also indicate that there's more appetite for opinions over facts among young people?

[Isabella Simonetti]

Yeah, that's an interesting point. People are looking for personalities whom they see as authentic and personalities who can tell them what to make of the facts that are out there and give them a way to think about politics. Some people think that that is dangerous because there is the opportunity for misinformation to spread when there isn't rigorous fact checking, making sure that both sides have an opportunity to respond for a story goes public, making sure that there's balance and not too much political sway in a story. These influencers and podcasters don't necessarily feel the obligation to do that, and that isn't hurting their reach.

[Kate Bullivant]

That was the Journal's Isabella Simonetti. Isabella, thanks so much for your time.

[Isabella Simonetti]

Thank you.

[Luke Vargas]

Coming up, Russia explores the creation of an oil giant and the Trump trade takes Bitcoin to another high. We've got those stories and more after the break.

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[Luke Vargas]

We are exclusively reporting that Russia is working on a plan to merge its biggest oil companies, a deal that would create the world's second largest crude producer after Saudi Arabia's Aramco, according to people familiar with the discussions which have been going on over the past few months. One scenario would involve state backed Rosnet Oil, absorbing fellow state producer Gazprom Neft, as well as independently owned Luke Oil, all three of which are under U.S. sanctions. Journal reporter Joe Wallace has more.

[Joe Wallace]

The Russian oil industry has had some success in adapting to Western sanctions. But nonetheless, the sanctions have created problems, particularly for Rosneft and its ability to maximize profits on its exports, which really are enormous and by far the biggest source of revenue for the Russian state. At the same time, the sanctions seem to have had some effect in hurting Rosneft's ability to carry out big oil and gas projects that would sustain Russian oil production for the coming decades. So part of the thinking is that either if the war carries on or even if there's some kind of thawing in relations with the west after a possible peace deal, Putin wants the oil industry to be fighting fit. And one way to do that is to bring together several big companies that could lead to more efficient export programs able to wring more profit out of each barrel exported around the world, and also even pull technology which could enable Russia to produce oil at a lower cost, which would maybe enable it to compete against Saudi and the US and other rivals on the world oil market.

[Luke Vargas]

A Kremlin spokesperson said the administration has no knowledge of a deal. A Rosneff spokesman said the journal's reporting was false, while Lukoil said it wasn't in the process of merger negotiations. Representatives for Gazprom Neft didn't respond to requests for comment. And speaking of Russia's war in Ukraine, both Moscow and Kyiv launched record numbers of aerial drones against each other over the weekend as they try to make whatever gains they can ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump, who's pledged to end the conflict, raising the prospect of peace talks. Russia is advancing slowly but steadily along the front lines of the conflict, particularly in Ukraine's east. The United Nations COP 29 Climate Summit opens today. The two week event has been billed as the so called finance cop, with a focus on how to find the money for the transition away from fossil fuels to limit global warming. Journal sustainability reporter Yousef Khan is in Baku, Azerbaijan to cover the summit and says the host country doesn't see its deep links to the oil industry as a cause for concern.

[Yousef Khan]

These countries, you know, whether it be last year's host uae, this year's host being Azerbaijan, they've become rich through fossil fuels, they've become rich through oil and gas exports and they're not going to shy away from that. They like to keep exporting. They don't see that model changing, but they also see that as a way of raising the cash that can then be used for energy transition technologies. Whether those two work together is a different question and whether those countries are willing to give up a significant share of what their GDP would be is another question.

[Luke Vargas]

Attendance this year is expected to be less than half that of last year's summit, with companies, including major banks, sending smaller delegations or skipping it altogether. Donald Trump's victory in last week's election has also clouded much of the US's climate policy going into the conference. Trade stresses are mounting in Canada after dock workers in Montreal rejected a fresh pay offer last night. That prompted the Maritime Employers association, which represents companies operating at the port, to declare a lockout, halting the flow of cargo through Canada's second largest seaport. Meanwhile, a push to end a separate lockout at ports in British Columbia is showing no signs of movement. The lockouts risk spilling over into the US as shippers divert goods to America's coastal ports, potentially triggering trucker shortages and delivery delays and adding to costs. And finally, in a look at what's happening in markets, bitcoin is trading above $82,000 today, a fresh record as the crypto world prepares for a renaissance under Donald Trump, who's vowed to ease the regulatory burden on crypto and create a reserve to hold the nation's bitcoin supply. And it's shaping up to be a busy week, with the latest U.S. consumer Price Index update due on Wednesday, ahead of October's retail sales update on Friday. And in a relatively light week for earnings. Home Depot, Tyson Foods and Spotify are set to report results tomorrow, with Disney following on Thursday. And that's it for what's news for Monday morning. Today's show was produced by Kate Bullivant and Daniel Bach, with supervising producer Christina Rocca. And I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall. We will be back tonight with a new show, and until then, thanks for listening.

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