When Donald J. Trump pulled off a surprise victory against Hillary Clinton in 2016, the news media was a major beneficiary, as viewers stayed glued to cable news and readers signed up for newspaper subscriptions in droves.
Eight years later, Mr. Trump’s definitive White House victory could lead to another spike of audience interest in the news — at least in the short term — numerous experts said.
Cable news ratings, subscriptions to digital news organizations and philanthropic giving will probably increase, as audiences sort through a news-intensive post-election period. But that enthusiasm could wear off in the coming weeks and months as viewers become exhausted by the relentless news cycle.
“Trump 2.0 will likely be a very different administration than we saw before,” said Frank Sesno, a professor at George Washington University and the former Washington bureau chief of CNN. “That will carry immense consequences and news value. It will energize right-wing media, and it will panic the left.”
The New York Times, The Washington Post and other newspapers saw a sudden influx of subscriptions in 2016 as readers puzzled through the consequences of Mr. Trump’s initial victory. Those news organizations capitalized on that surge with ad campaigns embracing new readers and, in the case of The Washington Post, adopting a slogan that underscored a commitment to aggressive reporting: “Democracy Dies In Darkness.”
David Clinch, a revenue consultant for Media Growth Partners, a media advisory firm, said he thought news organizations would see another uptick in customers, but that it would be more muted than in the first Trump administration, because some readers have become fed up with or exhausted by mainstream news coverage.
Mr. Clinch said he expected news organizations to begin fine-tuning marketing campaigns to reach specific readers who might have heightened interest in the news after the election.
That may already be beginning. On Wednesday morning, Vox.com’s editor in chief and publisher, Swati Sharma, emailed readers to ask for donations, emphasizing the site’s “fearless journalism” and “cleareyed reporting.”
Mr. Trump’s victory will also probably result in an increase in philanthropic giving to news organizations, especially those that act as watchdogs of powerful political and corporate interests, said Richard Tofel, the former president of ProPublica, an investigative reporting nonprofit.
Mr. Tofel said that small donations would most likely increase immediately, with wealthy individuals and especially foundation funders taking time to assess the potential effects that Mr. Trump’s term could have on the press, given his relentless criticism of journalists.
“It would depend, I think, on the approach that Trump takes,” Mr. Tofel said. “If he maintains the hostility to the press that he was displaying as recently as Monday, I suspect that there will be a surge of major giving from some quarters aimed at defending the press.”
But “that might not be the case, at least in the short run,” if Mr. Trump’s tone is more like his victory speech early Wednesday morning, Mr. Tofel said.
Another possible beneficiary of the high-intensity news cycle following Mr. Trump’s victory are podcasters and other online creators, who were courted by both Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris during the run-up to the election, said Chris Balfe, the chief executive of Red Seat Ventures, a media company that produces podcasts for figures including the former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.
Mr. Balfe said that Mr. Trump’s appearances on podcasts including “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “This Past Weekend With Theo Von,” as well as Ms. Harris’s appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, are a sign that the rising power of influential voices outside the mainstream media will only continue growing in the wake of the election.
“Those creators have built really large, loyal audiences,” Mr. Balfe said. “Clearly that’s where media consumption is going, and therefore, that’s where political candidates need to go to reach that audience.”
Even as viewers tune in for the aftermath of the election, traditional TV ratings are in terminal decline, and Mr. Trump’s victory is unlikely to alter that predicament, Mr. Sesno, the George Washington University professor, said. Regardless of the short-term viewership boost, news executives need to put their long-term missions before their short-term commercial concerns, or risk alienating their audiences for years to come.
“It’s vital that as these channels think about their ratings, they also are thinking profoundly about the public service that they’re supposed to play, even in an intensely competitive, private sector-driven marketplace,” Mr. Sesno said.
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