Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 18, 2017 15:09:34 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steve-bannon-mulls-return-breitbart-as-plots-tv-expansion-1030949
Steve Bannon Mulls Return to Breitbart as It Plots TV Expansion
The exiting White House advisor could help the right-wing outlet distance itself from other Fox News competitors.
Be careful what you wish for, President Trump.
Trump, after a few weeks of voicing displeasure that Steve Bannon was getting too much credit for his successes — and not enough blame for failures — ousted his chief advisor on Friday, allowing the freewheeling media entrepreneur a whole lot of time to pursue his passion: making and breaking political careers.
Long before Trump’s candidacy was a thing, Bannon was working at the margins producing films attacking Hillary Clinton, defending Sarah Palin and boosting the legacy of Ronald Reagan. They were effective pieces of evangelism, but they only spoke to the choir. When he joined as Trump’s campaign CEO and helped him to victory, he proved beyond doubt his ability to craft narratives and change hearts and minds.
Now he’s free to work his magic against his former boss, should he choose to, which is what some insiders expect will be the case when he returns to Breitbart News, where he was executive chairman before joining Trump’s campaign, then his administration.
Breitbart did not respond to several requests for comment, though after the White House confirmed the ouster of Bannon, senior editor Joel Pollak tweeted #War, which the media interprets as Breitbart’s declaration of war against Trump.
In fact, though, #War is a catchall phrase around Breitbart’s non-descript and un-advertised headquarters in West Los Angeles. It’s a nod to founder Andrew Breitbart’s declaration of war on the “Democrat Media Complex.”
While nothing is official, insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that Bannon will return to Breitbart, which reported on Friday that their former exec chairman wasn’t ousted but resigned on Aug. 7, then stuck around an extra 11 days due to the racial unrest in Charlottesville, Va.
Breitbart is a force to be reckoned with, its traffic peaking at 23 million unique visitors in November, the month Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. It has since fallen to about 12 million monthly, according to comScore.
Breitbart, though, also intends on expanding into television, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect, according to some who are familiar with Bannon’s ambitions, given that Fox News has fallen out of favor with some conservatives and Trump supporters after Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly were fired.
“I don’t watch news, not even Fox News anymore,” says actor Scott Baio. “There’s no difference between late-night, show business and the press. It’s all groupthink. I don’t pay attention to the propaganda.”
Baio is a passionate supporter of the president who spoke on his behalf at the Republican National Convention, so it’s likely his views about the media are shared by like-minded consumers, indicating there’s a market for a Breitbart TV. With Bannon back at its side, it might even have a leg up on Newsmax TV, One America News Network and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, even though those outlets — largely considered alternatives to Fox News — are already on air and have a big head start over whatever Breitbart decides to do on television.
Observers, though, say Breitbart needs to tread carefully. If the site and radio show is suddenly perceived as too harsh on Trump, it could lose a massive chunk of its audience, given its reputation as a pro-Trump outlet. Instead, the coverage will need to be critical when Trump veers from his agenda and positive when he does not.
Trump, therefore, will need to get used to Bannon holding his feet to the fire on immigration, Obamacare, fair trade and the like, while in his past role he has been an apologist for the president’s shortcomings.
“It all depends on how acrimonious the departure was,” says John Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.
“If it was a mutual agreement, as the White House spin suggests, then Breitbart will continue to be broadly supportive,” Pitney says. “But if Bannon is angry, Breitbart will treat Trump like a heretic. Joel Pollak is already comparing Trump to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and for right wingers, ‘Schwarzenegger’ is German for ‘Benedict Arnold.’”
In the meantime, many Trump supporters who work in the media industry and spoke to THR on the condition of anonymity, don’t believe the spin that Bannon left on his own accord and are angry at the president for ousting him. Not only is Bannon seen as a staunch advocate of America-first and a fearless opponent of the left and rampant political correctness, but moving on from Bannon is seen as a surrender to a hostile press that has been smearing him nonstop for a year.
“The Democrats are getting everything they want,” says on member of Friends of Abe, the private group of Republicans in Hollywood. “Trump should keep some of these people that liberals hate so much.”
Steve Bannon Mulls Return to Breitbart as It Plots TV Expansion
The exiting White House advisor could help the right-wing outlet distance itself from other Fox News competitors.
Be careful what you wish for, President Trump.
Trump, after a few weeks of voicing displeasure that Steve Bannon was getting too much credit for his successes — and not enough blame for failures — ousted his chief advisor on Friday, allowing the freewheeling media entrepreneur a whole lot of time to pursue his passion: making and breaking political careers.
Long before Trump’s candidacy was a thing, Bannon was working at the margins producing films attacking Hillary Clinton, defending Sarah Palin and boosting the legacy of Ronald Reagan. They were effective pieces of evangelism, but they only spoke to the choir. When he joined as Trump’s campaign CEO and helped him to victory, he proved beyond doubt his ability to craft narratives and change hearts and minds.
Now he’s free to work his magic against his former boss, should he choose to, which is what some insiders expect will be the case when he returns to Breitbart News, where he was executive chairman before joining Trump’s campaign, then his administration.
Breitbart did not respond to several requests for comment, though after the White House confirmed the ouster of Bannon, senior editor Joel Pollak tweeted #War, which the media interprets as Breitbart’s declaration of war against Trump.
In fact, though, #War is a catchall phrase around Breitbart’s non-descript and un-advertised headquarters in West Los Angeles. It’s a nod to founder Andrew Breitbart’s declaration of war on the “Democrat Media Complex.”
While nothing is official, insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that Bannon will return to Breitbart, which reported on Friday that their former exec chairman wasn’t ousted but resigned on Aug. 7, then stuck around an extra 11 days due to the racial unrest in Charlottesville, Va.
Breitbart is a force to be reckoned with, its traffic peaking at 23 million unique visitors in November, the month Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. It has since fallen to about 12 million monthly, according to comScore.
Breitbart, though, also intends on expanding into television, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect, according to some who are familiar with Bannon’s ambitions, given that Fox News has fallen out of favor with some conservatives and Trump supporters after Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly were fired.
“I don’t watch news, not even Fox News anymore,” says actor Scott Baio. “There’s no difference between late-night, show business and the press. It’s all groupthink. I don’t pay attention to the propaganda.”
Baio is a passionate supporter of the president who spoke on his behalf at the Republican National Convention, so it’s likely his views about the media are shared by like-minded consumers, indicating there’s a market for a Breitbart TV. With Bannon back at its side, it might even have a leg up on Newsmax TV, One America News Network and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, even though those outlets — largely considered alternatives to Fox News — are already on air and have a big head start over whatever Breitbart decides to do on television.
Observers, though, say Breitbart needs to tread carefully. If the site and radio show is suddenly perceived as too harsh on Trump, it could lose a massive chunk of its audience, given its reputation as a pro-Trump outlet. Instead, the coverage will need to be critical when Trump veers from his agenda and positive when he does not.
Trump, therefore, will need to get used to Bannon holding his feet to the fire on immigration, Obamacare, fair trade and the like, while in his past role he has been an apologist for the president’s shortcomings.
“It all depends on how acrimonious the departure was,” says John Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.
“If it was a mutual agreement, as the White House spin suggests, then Breitbart will continue to be broadly supportive,” Pitney says. “But if Bannon is angry, Breitbart will treat Trump like a heretic. Joel Pollak is already comparing Trump to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and for right wingers, ‘Schwarzenegger’ is German for ‘Benedict Arnold.’”
In the meantime, many Trump supporters who work in the media industry and spoke to THR on the condition of anonymity, don’t believe the spin that Bannon left on his own accord and are angry at the president for ousting him. Not only is Bannon seen as a staunch advocate of America-first and a fearless opponent of the left and rampant political correctness, but moving on from Bannon is seen as a surrender to a hostile press that has been smearing him nonstop for a year.
“The Democrats are getting everything they want,” says on member of Friends of Abe, the private group of Republicans in Hollywood. “Trump should keep some of these people that liberals hate so much.”