The Resistance Has An Unlikely Hero
Perhaps the oddest development of the past month is that the media Voice of the Resistance in the US has turned out to be (wait for it) The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board.
This is not just an Alan Wolk observation. Everyone from the BBC's Katty Kay to CNN's Brian Stelter to The Ankler's Claire Atkinson has been calling it out over the past several days.
For those of you outside the US, the WSJ is owned by the Murdoch family, the people who own the very right wing Fox News and allegedly serve as the model for the Roy family in Succession.
And the WSJ Editorial Board is notorious for its very right wing, pro-business, pro-GOP slant. (I have heard them described as a "passel of Mr. Burnses" - a reference to the Simpsons character.)
But for the past three weeks or so they have been running—every day, and sometimes twice a day—virulently anti-Trump editorials, taking him to task for everything from foreign policy to tariffs to his cabinet choices.
Here's the lede from yesterday:
𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘤𝘰-𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺—𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘔𝘳. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦.
(If you had to google "afflatus" you are not alone. It means "a divine creative impulse or inspiration".)
Meanwhile, the traditionally left-leaning Washington Post is under the new Bezos regime where editorials can only opine on “free markets and personal liberties.” And the New York Times is running columns with titles like “An Angry Little Boy On A Great White Horse.”
Which no doubt seemed clever in the moment.
Why It Matters
The Journal’s vibe shift is notable to the broader media industry because of its inherent WT actual F ness and because it is an excellent barometer of the many vibe-shifts happening in the culture right now.
We can expect to see these vibe shifts played out in both the news and podcast sphere at first, gradually making its way into pop culture at large. It will impact what shows are popular, who the audience is, and what genres and plotlines come to the fore.
What You Need To Do About It
Get a big bucket of popcorn, a heavy-duty seat belt and a no-spill lid for your beverages. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
