Donald Trump does not have much love for the mainstream media. Yet his first term as president was a boon for the industry. The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal all saw an influx of new subscribers. Likewise, the country’s three major cable news networks — Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN — enjoyed a big boost in viewership.
The Trump bump was the most pronounced at the NYT. The number of paid subscriptions across its digital and print products more than doubled from 2.9mn to 7.5mn between 2016 to 2020. Shares in the company nearly quadrupled during the period.
Could a second Trump presidency trigger another surge in subscribers and page views? The market seems to think so. Shares in NYT hit a new high last week after climbing 18 per cent this year. But investors may be getting ahead of themselves.