A Quick Lesson in Branding: Media Edition
I’ve been working on my new book for a while now, and it’s all about the subtle ways we’re manipulated on a daily basis. Today, I wanted to chat with you about how you’re being manipulated by the media, and it’s not in the way you think. Or, if you read my posts regularly, you may already know where I’m heading with this. The reality is that none of us like being manipulated or lied to, but how can you avoid it if you’re not even aware of how it’s happening? So, let’s talk about how we’re being duped into thinking independent media is completely different from mainstream media.
Just to give you a quick background about my news consumption, it’s important to note that I started with independent media. I didn’t care about the news or politics until around 2014 or 2015. During this time, one of my best friends wouldn’t shut up about Bernie Sanders, and that’s how I fell in love with his politics. But, what really got me into news and politics was when Trump was elected because I wanted to understand what the hell was going on.
The first news source I started watching was Philip DeFranco on YouTube. I liked him because he not only covered YouTube and pop culture news, but he’d break down some complex political topics in a way that was digestible. When I started watching him, I really enjoyed it because he had such a balanced perspective. For example, he’d criticize Trump as much as the next person, but when the media would sensationalize something silly about Trump, he’d recognize how silly it was. Today, I have more complaints about him than praises because he’s basically become what he was against.
Philip DeFranco really made a point to say, “Listen. I’m not a big media corporation. I’m just a guy with a small team. Support us so you get better news.” And he made a ton of money doing this. The last time I checked, he was living in a house worth roughly $4 million in the Los Angeles area, so he’s doing alright.
Over the years, I started discovering more independent news on YouTube that aligned with my progressive ideology, and it was great because they helped me understand how broken our system is.
What I realized was that all of them had something in common, and it was criticizing mainstream media. And don’t get me wrong, mainstream media absolutely sucks. Their fueled by corporate interests, and it’s hard to trust anything they say because their motives are all sorts of twisted on both the Left and the Right.
But what we’re here to talk about is branding.
I’ve worked in marketing and branding for years. What we must understand is that all marketing and branding is a form of manipulation. Manipulation isn’t always bad, either. For example, if someone was trying to convince you to do something good like help the homeless, they’re going to make persuasive arguments. That’s manipulation, but is it bad if it turns into something good? Typically, no. But there’s also a whole philosophical discussion to have around that.
A brand is everything. Your brand says who you are and what you’re about. People identify with brands. We also identify people by the brands they follow. Conspicuous consumption is when we buy things to show our status, but this type of consumption can branch out into the news we follow. Hell, I first noticed this back in my days of going to a ton of concerts in my teens and early 20s. What you like tells people about yourself.
Well, any successful media outlet is going to have a strong brand. Do you know what a great brand is? “We’re better than mainstream.” Think about all the people you know who think they’re super cool because they don’t listen to what’s on the radio because they only listen to smaller indy bands. We also have friends who do this with movies, and I’ve had quite a few friends from both of those camps. Now, independent media has managed to do the same thing.
Sorry to pick on Breaking Points again, but watch the outro of any of their videos. It’s added to every single video, and it says the following:
Saagar: “Just as a reminder, you can become a premium subscriber today. Watch the show completely uncut and see our reactions to each others monologues. You get to listen to it and get to ask us questions. All that good stuff. The link is right down there in the description or at BreakingPoints.com.
Krystal: “Best of all, it’s a great way to say, ‘Screw you,” to the mainstream media.
So, yeah. Their brand is “cool people who think, ‘FUCK MAINSTREAM MEDIA,’ watch our show instead. Personally, I’ve been watching them a lot less lately because half of their “news” is just telling you how awful mainstream media is and all the stories mainstream media has botched.
I get it. Mainstream media sucks. I don’t need to be reminded everyday why I’m “cool” for watching your show instead.
But they aren’t the only ones. Most independent media sources (especially on the Left) do this. Independent media on the Right doesn’t attack Fox News too much, though, which is kind of interesting now that I think about it. But, you also have mainstream media attacking each other on a daily basis, so, there’s that.
What prompted this specific piece and wanting to talk about media branding and how we’re manipulated is the recent Dave Chappelle story about “shutting down affordable housing” in his community. I personally don’t know where I stand on this story yet, but something interesting happened.
I saw the viral clip of Chappelle at his city council meeting, and then I wanted to see what people were saying. As per usual, I went to my independent sources. The first one I saw was Mike from The Humanist Report. He’s a YouTuber who is much smaller than many of the independent channels out there, too.
Mike is definitely one of my favorites. I don’t always agree with him, but he’s a good dude, and he actually doesn’t try to create a strong brand around, “I’m not mainstream.” He criticizes MSM sometimes, but most of his content is actually about politics and news.
And Mike wasn’t the only one to cover the Chappelle story and not be happy about Dave’s actions. A lot of independent sources had the same opinion. Not only that, but a lot of people I know who don’t follow mainstream media were sharing similar pieces about the Chappelle situation from independent sources.
Then, I saw this clip from Rising (Krystal and Saagars former outlet that they left because it was too corporate).
I like The Hill, and I really do like Krystal and Saagar, but I’ve just grown tired of their “in your face” brand. But as you can see, even The Hill is creating a sort of “we’re not mainstream” brand, and you can see the issue.
These brands of “screw mainstream media” have become so strong that they can make you think that only mainstream media has negative opinions about Dave Chappelle. I just showed you that this isn’t true at all.
Just as I criticize the Left, even though I lean left, I criticize independent media because I want them to do better.
These independent brands subtly make you believe that they’re more ethical and fair since they aren’t corrupted by big money. But I don’t see it like that. I’m lower-middle class and used to be even lower on the ladder. If someone at CNN is making $10 million a year, and someone like Krystal or Saager is making hundreds of thousands or over $1 million a year, I don’t see much of a difference.
I’m not saying money is a bad thing, but don’t be fooled into thinking that just because they’re independent, they aren’t motivated by money.
I help a ton of creators who are podcasters, YouTubers, and more try to figure out how they can support themselves because a lot of us don’t make that much. When I tell them to start a Patreon, and they think they can’t because they don’t have anything to offer, I always give them the same example.
I love Kyle, and he’s one of my favorite political commentators, but do the math real quick. Even if all 3,510 of his patrons were at the lowest level, that’s over $7,000 per month. How many of you reading this make that much money?
And now you’re probably like, “Well, Chris, $7,000 a month isn’t that much money.”
I thought you’d say that. What you might not realize is that Kyle only recently hid the amount of money his Patreon brings in. So, by using our friend the Wayback Machine, we can see what it used to be.
That snapshot was from a year ago, and now he has fewer Patrons. So, it’s obviously less than what it was, but he also has his podcast with Krystal where they have a paid subscription aspect.
They have thousands of subscribers who pay at least $5 a month.
The point is that independent media can make money. Oftentimes, more money than the people they’re fighting for. So, to think it’s impossible for them to have any incentives for how they do their content is to be willfully ignorant.
Anywho, branding manipulates us, and if you don’t mind, that’s cool. Just know that the whole “anti-MSM brand” is a schtick to make you feel cool. Do with that what you will, but I wanted to pull back the branding curtain a little for those of you who aren’t as familiar with how branding works.
I’m currently writing a book about how we’re manipulated by the news, social media, technology, advertisers, and each other. It dives into the psychological history of manipulation, our biases, tribalism, and more.
To stay updated follow me on Twitter and Instagram @TheRewiredSoul and subscribe to the Substack.