Corporate Media Hates Meidas... We Don’t Care

Written by Ben Meiselas

Ok, we get it. Corporate media hates us. They really despise us. And guess what? We really don’t care.

We are an existential threat to their existence. From my living room, with my baby girl’s beautiful noises in the background and my dog’s not-so-beautiful barking at squirrels in my yard, we’re getting better ratings than all of them.

Here are the latest Playboard ratings from yesterday, showing MeidasTouch still beating Fox, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and CBS:

The funny thing is, corporate media refuses to acknowledge it. Are they embarrassed?

Take the latest Adweek article, for example. It focused on Joe Rogan beating corporate media in video views. But the same graph Adweek used showed that the MeidasTouch Network was actually beating Joe Rogan under the same analysis. Adweek conveniently ignored its own chart and celebrated Rogan instead.

My buddy Kyle texted me this after reading Adweek:

“Let’s ignore the actual bigger network by views that started years after Rogan, with a fraction of the resources, and talk about how great Rogan is with a huge push from literally every politician and media outlet.”

Here’s the thing: corporate media is about ratings and money. MeidasTouch is about getting accurate news out.

Corporate media thrives on “anger-tainment,” whereas Meidas takes the time to do the research, get all the facts, and provide proper context.

I try to ensure our reporting is calm, delivered with the solemnity the story deserves, and avoids being overly dramatic or theatrical. Just the news, please. There’s no secret formula.

Right now, people are demanding accurate news without the drama and the tired “both sides” approach. We do our best to meet that need, and ironically, because we’re not chasing ratings or investors, we’ve ended up beating corporate media networks in viewers.

Here’s a story I don’t think I’ve shared before: A few months ago, a major newspaper had a reporter writing a profile on MeidasTouch. We spent hours interviewing with the reporter. We connected them with our hosts. The reporter seemed enthusiastic about the story. But after we showed them our metrics—showing Meidas outperforming their newspaper in key areas—the story was killed.

They went silent on us and ultimately told us they weren’t running the piece. I can’t say for sure it was because our metrics outshone theirs, but it’s hard not to wonder.

The important lesson we’ve learned as our network has grown? Don’t care what corporate media thinks. They almost always get it wrong. They usually have self-serving agendas. They’ve worked hard to normalize Trump. Why would we care about their approval? In fact, their disdain for us is probably a badge of honor.

In the words of Frank Sinatra: “I did it my way.” For us, it’s more accurate to say, “We, the MeidasMighty, did it our way.”

So, corporate media, whether you hate us or love us, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the MeidasMighty community remains true to its values and principles—and that we continue to put in the hard work, day after day.

Let’s make history together. Help MeidasTouch continue to be the most-watched digital video news network in America. With zero outside investors, we rely on this incredible community to grow.

Become a paid subscriber today and help Meidas grow.