Holding the line + staying on offense
How COURIER is helping shape the government shutdown fight online
For the first time since the last time Donald Trump was president, the federal government shut down this week after Republicans refused to negotiate with Democrats over what is supposed to be a bipartisan funding deal. While those of us who work in media and politics may be a little jaded when these kinds of showy Washington standoffs unfold, moments like this are critical to reach Americans who are suddenly tuning in to understand what’s happening - and for once, Democrats have the offensive advantage here.
According to a flash poll by the Washington Post released earlier this week, the majority of Americans blame Trump and Republicans for the government shutdown. That news comes despite the continued gaslighting by Republicans in Congress and Trump turning every federal government website homepage into his own personal TruthSocial post. Americans aren’t stupid, and understand that Republicans not only control the House, Senate, and White House, but have already been hard at work dismantling federal government programs and firing federal employees since Trump’s Inauguration. This moment provides an excellent and rare opportunity for Democrats to double down on their demands for Republicans to lessen the pain they intend to inflict on millions of Americans through their lethal cuts to healthcare while more and more Americans start paying attention, and ultimately force Republicans to the negotiating table.
This is a fight worth having and we all have a role to play to keep the momentum building. Our reporters at COURIER are focused on the important work of keeping our audiences informed of how and why this shutdown really occurred, who is to blame, and how devastating these GOP health care cuts will really be for all Americans. From New Hampshire to Arizona, our team at COURIER is covering the shutdown in a way that explains what’s at stake and puts working people’s needs and interests front and center—rather than just amplifying the beltway political noise.
We know many of the audiences we aim to reach aren’t going to click through long policy explainers on which programs or services are at risk. That’s why our local journalists and creators are doing what they do best: publishing sharp, easy-to-understand graphics and videos on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok that break down how this shutdown - and the dangerous cuts to health care within the Republican budget - will affect people’s daily lives.
In just the past two days, our local team has published dozens of pieces across brands and platforms about the shutdown, connecting the fight in Washington to real issues like rising healthcare costs and household budgets.
Meanwhile, our national bureau is hammering key messages to a large, grassroots audience - fact-checking MAGA misinformation, amplifying effective messengers, and exposing Republican hypocrisy.
This is what makes COURIER different: we are meeting people where they are, delivering trustworthy, relatable news that helps communities cut through the spin and understand what Washington decisions mean for their lives. At a time when confusion and misinformation spread quickly, and corporate media outlets only reach small subsets of paying, elite audiences, our work ensures that working families get the facts they need, and that their voices stay at the center of the story.
- Tara
P.S. I cannot let this Substack go out without properly recognizing today’s release of “The Life of a Showgirl,” a cultural masterpiece IMO. My favorite tracks upon my first 4 full-album listens since waking up are Eldest Daughter (obviously), Father Figure, and The Fate of Ophelia. If you’re in your TS vibes today too, send me a note with your track favorites, Showgirl weekend plans and easter egg conspiracies - I’m here for all of it - because this is the cultural distraction delight we could all use right now 🧡
What I’m reading this week
Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S. (Gallup, 10/2)
“Americans’ confidence in the mass media has edged down to a new low, with just 28% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in newspapers, television and radio to report the news fully, accurately and fairly. This is down from 31% last year and 40% five years ago. Meanwhile, seven in 10 U.S. adults now say they have “not very much” confidence (36%) or “none at all” (34%).”
Pew: Podcasts and news fact sheet (Pew, 9/30)
“Just over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they’ve listened to a podcast in the past 12 months, a slight increase since we first asked this in 2022 (49%). Younger people are far more likely to listen to podcasts, with 67% of those ages 18 to 29 saying they listened to a podcast in the past 12 months, about twice the share of those ages 65 and older (33%).”
1 in 5 Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020 (Pew, 9/30)
“A fifth of U.S. adults now regularly get news on TikTok, up from just 3% in 2020. In fact, during that span, no social media platform we’ve studied has experienced faster growth in news consumption, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. TikTok is primarily known for short-form video sharing and is especially popular among teens – 63% of whom report ever using the platform.”