Barstool boss Dave Portnoy has revealed why he believes Americans are ditching traditional news outlets, as the online aficionado has said there’s a ‘big time distrust’ among the longstanding networks.
Portnoy runs one of the largest online brands in sports that has attracted talent who have ended up becoming some of the largest names in media, such as Alex Cooper and Pat McAfee.
The Barstool founder’s comments come in the backdrop of CNN’s grip of primetime news weakening, as they have fallen from first to third in ratings over the last several years.
‘It is obviously big time distrust of legacy media,’ Portnoy told Fox News Digital. ‘And there’s so many different ways to consume media. Whether that’s online podcasts, some of it good, some of it bad, to be honest, you just have to be really careful where you’re getting your information from. There’s so many different people speaking now and people can access it in so many ways.’
‘The internet has given a way for people to fact-check and come to their own conclusions You just don’t have a couple of network TV anchors or chairs telling you what to think.’
Long gone are the days of Walter Winchell or Edward R. Murrow dominating a news cycle. Even the grip from the 1990s and early 2000s during coverage of Presidential elections and other huge news events has gone awry.
Dave Portnoy has revealed why he believes Americans are ditching traditional news outlets
The online aficionado has said there’s a ‘big time distrust’ among the longstanding networks
Portnoy’s comments come as the future of CNN has been under a microscope following Warner Bros. Discovery’s impending corporate restructuring.
One person told Fox the mood within CNN ‘remains really grim’ and ‘people are uncertain’ over the future.
Portnoy has been an agent of change for internet news, with his brand’s content mainly focusing on social media and podcasting.
The 48-year-old has still broken into the mainstream with Barstool’s success and the internet playing a role in every news cycle.
Portnoy may be Barstool’s biggest individual star, after others have found success and taken their talents elsewhere recently, such as Bussin’ With the Boys, which is hosted by former NFL stars Taylor Lewan and Will Compton.
Plenty of Portnoy’s content comes from his ‘one bite’ pizza reviews, as well as his soical-media rants attacking others’ opinions, including this week’s takedown of Stephen A. Smith.
