Why Americans Are Tuning Out Legacy Media
Byline: Olson Strategies Staff
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As legacy media networks navigate legal and reputational challenges, viewer trust and engagement are shifting fast. Olson Strategies’ Dustin Olson joined Newsmax’s National Report with Shaun Kraisman and Emma Rechenberg to discuss the resignation of 60 Minutes’ executive producer and what it says about the future of American media.
The Fallout at 60 Minutes
Bill Owens, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, is stepping down after what he called a loss of journalistic independence, coming just as President Trump sues the show over alleged deceptive and fraudulent editing. Owens reportedly told staff, “I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it.”
Olson pointed out that the departure signals deeper issues: the loss of trust is leading to a loss of audience..
Where Americans Are Getting Their News
Recent polling from American Pulse shows a stark shift in how people consume media:
- Only 46.2% of Americans now get their news from legacy media sources.
- Another 45.9% are turning to podcasts and online news influencers at least once a month—with 41.4% saying at least weekly—a number that’s quickly catching up.
- In fact, in the 2024 election, 41% said they saw at least part of the now-famous Joe Rogan Trump Interview.
“Over the last year or so, the legacy media has definitely dropped,” Olson noted. “In our most recent polling, only 46% of Americans get their news from the legacy media, and at least in my household or anywhere I've been, the only way you ever see 60 Minutes is if you forget to turn the TV off after a football game.”
American Pulse found in our Looking Ahead to 2025 survey that only 38.1% of Americans say they either have a “Great Deal” (11.5%) or a “Fair Amount” (26.6%) of trust in “traditional media, sometimes called legacy media or mainstream media.”
Prisoner Of Their Remaining Audience
During a discussion about MSNBC's coverage of President Trump, MSNBC host Jen Psaki admitted that the network's hosts focus on negative coverage of the President to meet the expectations of their left-leaning audience.
As Olson points out, MSNBC, having cultivated a left-leaning viewership over the years, now faces challenges in presenting balanced coverage without risking a further loss of viewers.
“Everybody pretty much knows that,” Olson commented.
“Clearly, they are a prisoner of the audience that they created. They've spent years upon years cultivating an audience that is very radical left, and now, if they tried to pivot away from it, they would lose even more viewers.”
Olson continued, “So everyone understands the incentives and disincentives, so if you are the host of a show, you know that if you try to cover the news in an unbiased way… they're not going to tune in. Because for a lot of these people, I think it's cathartic for them to hear whatever is bad for Republicans and Donald Trump… It's really a coping mechanism.”
The Bigger Picture
Olson argues that the shift away from legacy media is part of a broader movement—toward platforms that allow more transparency, accountability, and ideological diversity.
“For most Americans… what we're seeing is networks like NEWSMAX and Podcasting jumping… In our most recent polling, 46% of Americans now get their news at least once per month from podcasts, and you can see that they are about to overtake the legacy media.”
The Bottom Line:
The decline of shows like 60 Minutes isn’t just about one producer or one lawsuit—it’s about a systemic disconnect between elite media and the American people.
As Olson puts it, “The viewers are leaving because they’ve stopped believing. And once that trust is gone, it’s hard to get back.”