Retrospective 2025: mainstream journalists opt for the independent route

THE media landscape is as fractured and diverse as it has ever been, with the rise of new media in the form of podcasts, substacks and other independent journalism platforms providing consumers with a wide range of options for news and analysis.

Several prominent journalists, best known as the faces of their respective networks, have chosen the path to independence in 2025, but not all by choice. Those who did are, in any case, even more outspoken than before, suggesting that the corporate chains of their former employers no longer curbed their true opinions.

Here are five people who left mainstream media in the last year.

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Jim Acosta

Known for its melodramatic reporting style as a White House correspondent and then news anchor at CNN, Acosta announced in January, he left the network after being offered a midnight timeslot instead of a daytime slot.

The presenter on the left, who injected editorialization in his reporting on the president Donald Trump and others, launched “The Jim Acosta Show” on Substack, where he hosts a liberal podcast as well as blogs and features.

In one of the most bizarre moments of the year in journalism, Acosta in August “interviewed” the artificially animated avatar of deceased teenager Joaquin Oliver, who died in the Parkland massacre, to promote a message about gun control.

Although the teen’s father approved the stunt, the interview attracted significant criticism on the ethics of essentially putting words into a dead person’s mouth and highlighted Acosta’s hyperpartisan approach.

Joy Reid

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The longtime anchor of MSNBC – now known as MS NOW – was abruptly fired in February after hosting “The ReidOut.” Reid assumed it was because of her outspoken stance on the Gaza war and Trump, but said she was never given a real reason for the ouster.

Reid launched “The Joy Reid Show” in June, where she brought her far-left commentary and interviews to more than 382,000 subscribers on YouTube and counting.

Some of his highlights this year, which included numerous interviews on other shows, included sharing a video suggesting that the song “Jingle Bells” is racist, making fun of Erika Kirk’s outfit following the assassination of her husband Charlie and suggesting that Trump may not have actually been shot last year.

Terry Moran

The longtime ABC correspondent separated from the network in June after being suspended for his social media comments against Trump and his political adviser Stephen Miller, in which he called each man a “world-class hater.”

Moran, who had a few weeks earlier interviewed Trump in the Oval Office, took the Substack route, naming his site “Real Patriotism.”

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He also welcomed the rise of alternative media of which he is now part with his Substack.

“The new media is messy, chaotic and sometimes uninformed. But there is no denying that this new journalism is more democratic, more diverse and less captivated by corporate interests claiming that ‘objectivity’ means silence on reality. The future is here.” he wrote.

Chuck Todd

Todd left NBC News in January after 18 years on the network and relaunched his podcast “Chuck ToddCast” in April.

He cited a loss of confidence in the national media when he made the decision.

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“The reason I’m willing to move is I think the media has a lot of work to do to regain trust and I think, frankly, the national media is not the place to do it,” Todd said.

The former ‘Meet the Press’ moderator isn’t shy about attacking Democrats on his podcast, but much of his comments are solidly anti-Trump.

Jennifer Rubin

Time A Washington Post columnist leaves the newspaper in January due to anger at owner Jeff Bezos, who rescinded the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president the previous year.

The fiercely anti-Trump writer, who was once the paper’s token conservative opinion editor but has shifted sharply to the left, launched “The Contrarian” with Norm Eisen, a “pro-democracy” subset that would feature “fearless, distinctive reported opinions and cultural commentary without phony balance, euphemisms or gamified political pundits.”

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“We have seen corporations and billionaire media owners abuse the loyalty of their audiences and undermine the vital role of journalism in a free democracy,” Rubin said in a statement at the time. “Instead of safeguarding democratic values, they have allowed the gravest threats to democracy – Donald Trump and its allies – just when a strong, independent press is most essential. We need an alternative, truly independent media that is not afraid of administration and is not willing to procrastinate or take a knee. »