I don't know if we need more podcasts or not, but I did read a take that I thought was interesting. Democrats traditionally have a lot of support in Hollywood and other big media enterprises. (They listed another area, too, which of course I can't remember now and can't find the article, either.) But those areas don't hold as much sway anymore, in an era of silo-ed media consumption, social media influencers, YouTubers and podcasters. Having celebrities endorse Kamala backfired for some voters because they're too lofty, and they made Trump's D-listers look like normies (despite their angry-white-man rhetoric being deeply offensive to nearly everyone else).
Part of the problem is possibly that other liberals despise many of those people (as I have to constantly defend my children from lies they peddle), but the other part is that we don't have an answer. Where is left-wing AM talk radio? Who are our answers to tradwives and MAHAs? Where's the liberal equivalent to Ballerina Farm? It's not good enough anymore to have better data. We also need trusted messengers to deliver that data in digestible ways. It sucks, but it's apparently true.
I think Dems did the right thing by credentialing new-media influencers for the DNC, but as RFS knows so well, you have to start from the bottom. Find the accounts like Emily in Your Phone and Motherhood for Good and amplify them. Give them interviews. Give them shout-outs. Kamala was on the right track appearing on those podcasts.
I have supported RFS for years and I will continue to do so! You guys are doing great work. I really hope (and think it's definitely possible) that by 2026 we'll have a lot of those things in place.
I don't know if we need more podcasts or not, but I did read a take that I thought was interesting. Democrats traditionally have a lot of support in Hollywood and other big media enterprises. (They listed another area, too, which of course I can't remember now and can't find the article, either.) But those areas don't hold as much sway anymore, in an era of silo-ed media consumption, social media influencers, YouTubers and podcasters. Having celebrities endorse Kamala backfired for some voters because they're too lofty, and they made Trump's D-listers look like normies (despite their angry-white-man rhetoric being deeply offensive to nearly everyone else).
Part of the problem is possibly that other liberals despise many of those people (as I have to constantly defend my children from lies they peddle), but the other part is that we don't have an answer. Where is left-wing AM talk radio? Who are our answers to tradwives and MAHAs? Where's the liberal equivalent to Ballerina Farm? It's not good enough anymore to have better data. We also need trusted messengers to deliver that data in digestible ways. It sucks, but it's apparently true.
I think Dems did the right thing by credentialing new-media influencers for the DNC, but as RFS knows so well, you have to start from the bottom. Find the accounts like Emily in Your Phone and Motherhood for Good and amplify them. Give them interviews. Give them shout-outs. Kamala was on the right track appearing on those podcasts.
I have supported RFS for years and I will continue to do so! You guys are doing great work. I really hope (and think it's definitely possible) that by 2026 we'll have a lot of those things in place.