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RedState regrets to report that Axios founder Jim VandeHei has been reduced to a whimpering puddle of woe following Elon Musk’s rather astute observation of the state of today’s media.

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It all started with a five-word tweet from Musk:

Everyone but the Jim VandeHeis of the world knew what Musk was saying: more truth and information can be found in one citizen journalist’s iPhone video than in much of the “reporting” done by well-funded outlets like Axios. Distrust in the media is at an all-time high because they have debased themselves for decades while in service to the Democrat Party.

Musk’s comments about us all being “the media now” clearly caused much garment-rending and teeth-gnashing by the media, as evidenced by VandeHei’s comments while accepting a lifetime achievement last week at the National Press Club. He was irked.

“Social media people lying every day, every hour, every minute about the news, what you do matters. What the New York Times does matters. What the Wall Street Journal does matters.” 

They are incensed that 𝕏 exposes their lies — one reason their industry is in total collapse.

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Here’s the transcript of VandeHei’s remarks:

Everything we do is under fire. Elon Musk sits on Twitter everyday — or X today — saying, “We are the media! You are the media!” My message to Elon Musk is: “Bullsh!t! You’re not the media!” 

You having a blue checkmark, a Twitter handle and three-hundred words of cleverness doesn’t make you a reporter. You don’t do that by popping off on Twitter. You don’t do that by having an opinion. You do it by doing the hard work. 

The video fades to the applauding of MSNBC “journos” like Joe Scarborough and Al Sharpton, who see their careers circling the toilet bowl because the likes of Elon Musk have disrupted the entire media landscape. The funny thing is, they still still don’t seem to know that everything has shifted and they have been left behind. It’s a self-inflicted wound.

The disdain for Musk having the nerve to come into Jim VandeHei’s sandbox drips from his every word in the above video. Note also the red, sweating —he seems like a pretty angry dude for someone who’s just received an award. But, it’s not anger that’s fueling the rant, it’s fear.

As RedState’s Nick Arama recently reported, leftist media has good reason to be afraid:

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Then, in the past couple of weeks came the news that MSNBC took a dive in ratings after the election and that Comcast was going to spin it and other networks off into a separate entity called “SpinCo.” That, in turn, raised speculation about the sale and laying off people at MSNBC. Rachel Maddow did reportedly get her salary cut by $5 million. Meanwhile, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski went to speak to President-elect Donald Trump, and that seems to have led to many in their radical leftist audience turning on them and leaving. That’s funny because they got gored on the horn of their own propaganda to their audience. They sold Trump as akin to “Hitler,” and now their audience isn’t forgiving them for their actions. 

Musk has teased he might buy MSNBC, an idea sure to make Jim VendeHei’s frothing at the mouth that much worse.

It bears noting, with all due respect to Elon Musk, that the true pioneer of citizen journalism was the late Andrew Breitbart. He was a relentless seeker of the truth who encouraged grassroots activists to follow in his footsteps by wielding a cellphone and asking questions. You’ll find many Breitbart acolytes right here on the pages of RedState, so it’s a concept that not only worked, but is thriving. 

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When you throw in an ardent free-speech advocate like Elon Musk taking over the global town square of Twitter, well, that’s an existential threat to Jim VandeHei and Axios. Which begs the question: how does Axios stay in business?

Here’s a sampling of Axios’ newsletter sponsors from the last few weeks:

  • Instagram
  • Walmart
  • PHRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America)
  • Bank of America

What kind of return on investment these corporations are receiving for partnering with Axios is unclear, but the panicking words of Jim VandeHei make you wonder if they’re reconsidering their options in the changing media world. Time will tell. 

We now go to live coverage of Jim VandeHei’s meltdown: