For years, the warning signs have been clear. Mainstream or ‘traditional’ media has been relentlessly undermined by political actors, economic pressure and public disillusionment. From the populist playbook of media-bashing to the careful manipulation of licensing, ownership and publisher pressures, the press has been squeezed, delegitimised and starved. The newsmakers themselves are not blameless in this - many have been quick to curry favour for clicks which has led to an obsequious slide towards irrelevance. But the high cost of this - for all of us - is the lost space for collective accountability.
While some organisations are steeped in nostalgia for a media landscape that no longer exists, we have to consider what is really before us. We must confront what has been lost and fill the vacuum with credibility, compassion and renewed purpose.
Across the world, politicians have weaponised mistrust in the media to protect themselves from scrutiny. Their attacks aren’t just rhetorical. What starts as a slogan ends in legislation or executive order. Behind the insults lie policies, laws and levers of power, pulled and pushed to silence others. Financial interference, regulatory manipulation, ownership consolidation and outright harassment of journalists are all part of a broader strategy to delegitimise dissent and discredit evidence.
In New Zealand, soon to be Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters - recently dubbed on social media as a ‘Temu Trump’ - consistently attacks media here and, among many ill-considered remarks, his questioning the independence of state-owned media is typical of his modus operandi. Elsewhere, countries have used tax authorities and licensing bodies to silence critical voices. In the US, we need look no further than actual Trump where the "fake news" refrain is a daily chant, hollowing out public confidence not just in journalism but in reality itself.
This steady undermining has had a cumulative effect. Trust in media has plummeted - particularly among those who already feel abandoned or manipulated by institutions. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer made it plain - most people now find it difficult to tell if information is coming from a reliable source or if someone is trying to deceive them. Last year’s AUT University Trust in News report showed the same steep decline in trust and with their research for 2025 due in any day now, I expect we will see it nosedive once more.
But this isn’t only a media crisis. It’s a crisis of truth and colliding realities.
What’s more disturbing than the erosion of trust is what has slithered in to take its place. Lies, misinformation, strategic attacks, all bait for the traps of self-enclosure. We face an exhausting daily onslaught, a potent mixture of disinformation, tribal allegiance and narrative manipulation.
People are increasingly trapped in the state of disassociation that the author C.S. Lewis described so vividly in The Last Battle. The dwarfs, offered food and drink in Aslan’s country, believe they are still cornered in a filthy stable consuming muck and straw, refusing to believe they’ve escaped and are free to choose their fate. Their senses lie to them, not because of blindness, but because of deep, reflexive distrust. “The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs,” they say. “We won’t be taken in.”
It’s an apt metaphor for what’s happening now. From tariffs to media conspiracies, false promises are being sold in language that pretends strength, freedom and sovereignty while the consequences of those promises (higher costs, degraded institutions, economic harm) are quietly fed to the public. And still, many refuse to step out of the illusion despite the indigestible and poisonous nature of the content.
People caught in this way are not being wilfully ignorant. They’re trying to protect themselves. But that instinct, left unchecked, creates a door to self-enclosure that’s extremely hard to break down.
So, where do we go from here? What’s the role of public relations practitioners, communicators and organisations when it comes to the media relations aspect of our work (which as we know, is only one aspect of many and one which has diminished for most). How can we help the truth out of the muck and back into the mainstream?
The first step is abandoning the fantasy that we can ‘correct’ misinformation by simply presenting facts. People don’t abandon the false narratives they are fed because of evidence. They step away from them when the ‘story’ they’ve bought into begins to fray, when a new story (or saviour) feels safer, fairer and more human. More suited to their situation and emotional state. One that offers solace, not suffering, understanding, not judgement.
This means we have to stop doing things the way they’ve always been done in a world doesn’t exist anymore. First steps must include a deeper understanding of others, their situations and the emotions that result. Be better sense-makers in the places people actually go for information - TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit - and look to build trust, not traffic. Solve problems, not bank profits.
In his record breaking speech in the Senate, Cory Booker at one point had reportedly more than 300 million people watching the TikTok live with hundreds of thousands more scattered across social streams elsewhere. During his 25 hours and five minutes on the floor, more people learnt more about the travesties, cruelties and consequences of the Trump-Musk regime than they have encountered in three months of ‘traditional’ media coverage.
How do we build trust in these times? Make a start. Remember you are the publisher and the provider. You are not a billionaire blustering for control but a myth buster, breaking out nourishing short-form content that explains complex issues calmly, clearly and with humanity. Use story-led formats that acknowledge confusion and model curiosity. Frame facts in terms of values people hold not slogans they’ve been fed. Encourage media literacy in subtle, empowering ways, without blame or condescension. And work alongside credible, independent creators and journalists who bring their own trust equity.
Forget media relations - get to work on cultural repair.
And yet, in the midst of all this decentralisation there remains a residue of what we once called mainstream media. It no longer functions as the dominant gatekeeper or agenda-setter but it retains a latent legitimacy. In moments of crisis or uncertainty, when social platforms become noise chambers, people still turn - tentatively - to legacy sources, especially when, in those times of crisis, social channels block information that is the difference between life and death.
Any future for media relations must focus on collaboration against misinformation. Partner with journalists, particularly those working within what’s left of reputable and credible mainstream platforms, to surface what organisations can’t - or won’t - say outright. Work to trace patterns. To name risks. To expose manipulation.
It’s also about recognising that journalists face the same hostility, suspicion and precarity that communicators do. We’re not opponents, we never have been - ironically that division was a media construct. In today’s world we are co-navigators through a very fragile information terrain.
In this nebulous era, the practitioners who succeed will be those who understand how fragmented the information environment has become and who commit to constructing better bridges between knowledge, experience, wisdom and trust. We know that the relationship is at the heart of all we do as we work to maintain our licence to operate. Relationships with journalists, wherever they work, whatever they do - are still part of that process. They will just take on a different form. Maybe we will see a maturity, maybe a new start - like any new beginning, we will all be tentatively feeling our way.
Our daily job list will see us cultivate long term relationships with truth-seeking journalists, not for exposure but for collective verification. We will share resources that contextualise, not just promote, complex issues. And as an activity, we’ll create accessible, culturally fluent materials for dispersed stakeholders and communities of interest that actively invite critical thinking.
Scattered as it may be across channels and communities, trust hasn’t disappeared - it’s moved, often into harder-to-find places. And truth hasn’t died - it is stuck, knee deep in stable muck trying to dig its way out.
We might feel the urge to mourn the end of mainstream media but instead, let’s recognise the value of what remains. Not as a relic but as one tool among many that we can use to crack open stable doors, repair public trust, let the light in and help people see clearly again.
Because if we don’t break down the doors of illusion, others will barge through, bolting them shut to keep people enclosed and afraid in realities not of their choosing.