2025 Trends from Christine Merser: Media 2025

Every year at this time, and into the new year, I present my thoughts around changes and trends we can see in the new year that might change the way we do business and live our lives. This year, we face a lot of unknowns; politically, the landscape of our country’s approach to governance will take on changes that we couldn’t have imagined a short decade ago. AI’s emergence will change much of how we do business and how we approach our lives day to day. And the ripple effect of these two mega-trend moments abounds.

Let’s begin with the Media 2025.

People are moving away from mainstream media and building their own curated news ecosystems. The rise of platforms like Substack, YouTube, and Patreon has allowed individuals to take control of the news they consume, choosing voices they trust rather than being force-fed a corporate narrative. Figures like Heather Cox Richardson, who combines academic credentials with deeply researched analysis, have proven that audiences are eager for thoughtful, transparent reporting from individuals who earn their trust daily. In this new model, audiences fund these creators directly, fostering accountability to readers rather than corporate boards or advertisers. It gives the author an independence never seen before in our news cycles. I’m all in.

Contrast this with the steady decline of legacy outlets like ABC, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, whose willingness to bow to pressure campaigns has alienated their audiences. And trying to pay their outlandish salaries with waning advertising dollars means that we will see them slowly (or maybe not so slowly) fade away. Take Joe and Mika’s infamous trip to Mar-a-Lago as an example of this erosion. Whatever credibility they had left evaporated the moment they chose access over integrity, exposing how tethered these outlets—and their stars—are to the powers they’re supposed to hold accountable. Their decisions aren’t just poor optics; they underscore why so many are turning to independent creators for unfiltered perspectives and authentic reporting. But if you look back at their origins, they should never have had so much exposure to us anyway. They were created by the networks, not by their credentials. Mika has no credentials other than her famous father, and Joe? Well, a few won elections in an obscure congressional district in Florida and a questionable resignation from Congress just a few months after being elected should never have given him unfettered access to putting his editorials on The Wall Street Journal’s editorial pages. Seriously?

ABC’s recent apology for George Stephanopoulos’s comments about Donald Trump’s trial further highlights this troubling trend. Stephanopoulos, who reportedly makes tens of millions of dollars a year, has faced repeated questions about his integrity over the years but has never stepped down or taken a stand against his network’s editorial pressures. His actions—or lack thereof—underscore a fundamental truth: when your paycheck comes from the 34th floor, you’re beholden to the 34th floor. You do what they say. In stark contrast, someone like Heather Cox Richardson operates entirely outside that system. She isn’t pressured to frame her analysis in a certain way to appease executives, advertisers, or politicians. Her readers pay seven dollars a month—or thereabouts—and in return, she writes what she wants, how she wants.

What does this mean? It means we, as individuals, are reclaiming our power. We can determine for ourselves whether a source is credible, and if it isn’t, it’s easy to move on to someone else. We’re no longer stuck with three network news sources or a handful of major newspapers dictating the narrative. Instead, we’re building our own news ecosystems, piecing together voices we trust, and financially supporting the ones who earn it. And we can cancel the ABCs of the world and possibly save money in the end. Net net? We win, and we curate our own education about what is happening in the world. Considering fake news, this is a period of enlightenment for us all, and a period of responsibility for our own journalistic foundation, which is a good thing. A very good thing.

What will this do? You will see the diminishment of power for many of the so-called titans of mainstream media who never deserved the influence they wielded in the first place. Too often, large platforms have amplified voices with little expertise or credibility, rewarding sensationalism over substance. This lack of rigor has not only undermined public trust but has also allowed fake news to thrive unchecked. In contrast, the individuals we now support—people with true credentials and expertise—are helping us rebuild that trust. By surrounding ourselves with these independent voices, we are creating a media environment where authenticity and accountability thrive, and misinformation has less room to grow.

Just because I can present credibility doesn’t mean I should have it. Looking like you should believe me is as irrelevant as the “like” button we all used to covet on our social media platforms.

So in 2025, we will be building something new—an evolving ecosystem where trust is earned, not assumed. As independent creators grow their audiences and legacy media continues to lose ground, the way news enters our homes will continue to change. And for the first time in a long time, that change feels like progress. Stayed tuned to our newsletter (moving to Substack in early 2025) for more on this trend. We welcome your input. - Christine Merser