The liberal media is at its weakest point in decades, according to Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei, who criticized the industry’s dwindling influence and declining audience engagement in an interview published Tuesday.

Speaking to Mediaite, VandeHei acknowledged the changing media landscape, pointing to plummeting readership at major liberal news outlets like The Washington Post, as well as layoffs at CNN and NBC News.

“The left right now, liberal media, has probably never been weaker in my lifetime than right now,” VandeHei stated, acknowledging that ideological media still has a market but faces major challenges.

VandeHei’s remarks come amid significant struggles for left-leaning news organizations. CNN, NBC News, and The Washington Post have all reported sharp declines in viewership and digital traffic, resulting in major layoffs and corporate restructuring.

According to internal data obtained by digital news site Semafor, The Washington Post lost nearly all of its peak daily online readership during President Joe Biden’s time in office.

At the start of Biden’s presidency in January 2021, The Post had 22.5 million daily active users. By mid-2024, that number had cratered to just 2.5-3 million daily users—a staggering 88% drop.

Meanwhile, CNN, which implemented long-planned layoffs in January, eliminated approximately 6% of its workforce—around 200 jobs. The network attributed the cuts to “irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news.”

Despite these setbacks, VandeHei believes the liberal media still has an opportunity to recover—if it evolves.

“Could an MSNBC, in a kind of a digital, social, traditional TV world, build that into something even bigger? They could, if you have smart leadership, a really good plan, and personalities that people gravitate toward,” he said, referencing liberal hosts Rachel Maddow, Joe Scarborough, and Mika Brzezinski.

However, VandeHei cautioned that clinging to outdated media models will only lead to further decline.

“You just got to stop thinking about how great it was—because it was great, and it’s never going to be great again like that,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t be good and that it can’t be successful. It just means you have to buckle up and be ready for extraordinary, high-velocity change.”

He warned that failure to adapt would result in the industry’s downfall, stating, “Anybody with that mentality, with good decision-making, can thrive. If you don’t have that, you die. But that’s true in any industry, any business.”

The liberal media’s decline follows years of widespread audience distrust, biased reporting, and the rise of alternative platforms that provide news without traditional gatekeepers. Podcasters and independent journalists have gained massive followings, while traditional outlets like CNN and The Washington Post struggle to maintain relevance.

With legacy media facing existential threats, industry leaders like VandeHei believe that only radical change can save what’s left of the mainstream left-wing media ecosystem.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)