And another one bites the dust.
In the latest case of a pundit or reporter leaving the walled garden of establishment media and failing in the new media landscape, former CNN anchor Don Lemon announced he was leaving X — which he still calls Twitter — effective immediately.
Lemon’s stated reason was that the platform was too conservative for him, although many noted that basically nobody noticed he was still around.
“I’ve loved connecting with all of you on X, but it’s time for me to leave the platform,” Lemon said in a Wednesday morning message.
“I once believed it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose.”
Lemon also cited new terms of service which require all disputes to be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or Tarrant County, Texas courts.
“As the Washington Post recently reported on X’s decision to change the terms, this ‘ensures that such lawsuits will be heard in courthouses that are a hub for conservatives, which experts say could make it easier for X to shield itself from litigation and punish critics.’
“I think that speaks for itself,” Lemon said.
My statement on leaving Twitter pic.twitter.com/9tYcfqHhhC
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) November 13, 2024
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Of course, it’s worth noting that the one pushing for censorship when Lemon and X impresario Elon Musk sat down for an interview was … Lemon:
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And, as the reaction to Lemon’s departure seemed to indicate, the motive factor probably had a lot more to do with the fact nobody really cared:
I ain’t reading all that. You can Hit the “Delete Account” anytime now
— Valentina Gomez (@ValentinaForUSA) November 13, 2024
Nobody cares
Leave already
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) November 13, 2024
Oh, you were still here?
— Ian Carroll (@Cancelcloco) November 13, 2024
Just in case you’ve forgotten how we got here — and how Lemon is an object lesson in how old media stalwarts tend to fail when they try their hand at new media — let’s go through a brief history of Don Lemon’s recent career arc.
In April of 2023, after months of behind-the-scenes drama at CNN’s morning show, Lemon was fired by the network after 17 years there.
It’s unclear whether it was because of the show’s low ratings, or his frequent dust-ups with his co-hosts, or a series of controversial comments — particularly a cheap shot at Nikki Haley in which he claimed that women over 50 aren’t in their prime anymore.
Perhaps Lemon could have parlayed his way into a weekend show on MSNBC or something; after all, if Katie Phang and Al Sharpton can keep gigs there, surely Lemon could, right?
But no: He decided it was time for him to become the next Joe Rogan or Tucker Carlson and venture out into the world of social media broadcasting/podcasting.
And, it initially looked like Musk was going to hire him, even with a series of exorbitant demands. Then, Elon realized Lemon basically just wanted to do his old job.
“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying,” Musk said in an X post.
“And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just [former CNN president] Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.”
And he tried to — with not a whole lot of success, since most of us didn’t even notice he was going. Now, he’s blaming it on the conservative bent of social media.
It’s worth noting that, yes, conservatives and heterodox political thinkers tend to do better in the podcasting and social media arena. Figures like Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro, and Tim Pool have made their names that way, and former establishment media types like Carlson and Megyn Kelly have seen a career renaissance since leaving their respective networks.
That’s not because of the fact that the deck is stacked in favor of the right on social media, despite what many on the left claim.
Instead, it’s because establishment types like Lemon simply want to keep on doing the same thing they were doing before, just on a different platform where more and more people are turning for news. Except the reason they’re turning to those platforms for news is because establishment media types like Lemon keep on doing the same thing on networks like CNN.
Nor is Lemon the first person to find this out. When Chris Wallace left Fox News over disagreements regarding the network’s 2020 election coverage, he decided to try streaming with CNN’s digital service, CNN+. That was so abysmal it lasted about a month, and the quality of Wallace’s show didn’t help any; think of a more boring version of Charlie Rose without an alleged sexual predator hosting and you’ll get an idea just how bad it was.
Wallace apparently still hasn’t learned, because after a few years on CNN proper he’s announced a move into independent streaming and podcasting, one which will doubtlessly go just as well as the CNN+ gig did.
What personalities like Lemon and Wallace are discovering is that people aren’t just leaving traditional media because new technologies and platforms have emerged. It’s that those new technologies cut out the sclerotic gatekeeping middlemen who have set the narrative from the dawn of the mass media era. Without that in place, there’s no reason to seek out Lemon or his ilk. Don’t let the door hit you in the posterior, Don.
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