‘Why Do They Trust You?’ Margaret Hoover Asks Two Influencers How They Built Their Audiences

Margaret Hoover, the host of PBS’s Firing Line, sat down with Steve Bannon’s White House Correspondent Natalie Winters and progressive influencer Adam Mockler to discuss the rise of alternative media.

PBS released a preview clip from the interview on Friday, in which Hoover asks, “This is a time, as you guys know, of really intense disruption in media, and each of you with your massive followings have developed a degree of trust with your audience at a time when trust in media has… Why do your audiences—and I’m gonna go to both of you—why do they trust you? Natalie, go first.”

“Well, I think it’s not just that we cover issues that Americans actually care about in a way that’s truly factual, but we cover the issues that I think for so long legacy media has just routinely ignored,” Winters replied, adding:

I think you can sort of see the convergence of that with what President Trump talked about in 2016, which was immigration, trade deals, and the idea that our government should actually work to represent us and not be importing a sort of class of foreign workers, depressing our wages, and just, I think, destroying what it means to be an American. It’s the idea that Americans are not allowed to care about certain issues or they’re demeaned as nativists, xenophobic, racist—every “-ist” ad hominem attack in the book. And I think War Room, I think sort of alternative, at least conservative media, actually says, “No, it’s okay to care about wanting to be an American and not having your government replace you with a bunch of foreigners.”

“Adam, What do you do that has developed trust with your viewers?” Hoover followed.

“I think in this new age of media, where mainstream media is losing viewership and people are migrating to digital media, people are looking for authenticity. The Democratic Party, which I oftentimes represent in my videos, has built up a reputation of being a few things: risk-averse and a little bit finger-waggy in people’s faces, always trying to tell people what to say or what not to say, right?” replied Mockler, adding:

So as somebody in this Democratic sphere, I try to bring an authentic view. People don’t always want to see me in suits on TV like I am now. Sometimes I’m just in my bedroom telling it how it is, saying what the story of the day is, and that is authentic to people. People really like that.

“And that’s helped you build trust?” Hoover pushed, as Mockler added, “I think the authenticity has helped me build trust.”

“The T-shirt helps you build trust!” Hoover cracked.

“In a way, absolutely. It feels like we come at an angle that mainstream media oftentimes fails to come at,” Mockler concluded.

Watch the clip above via PBS.

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