Joe Rogan discusses rise of podcasts among younger generations: "Mainstream media is dead"

Though it could be argued that he wasn't the first to do it, Joe Rogan is responsible for the massive rise of podcasts in the past decade. His smash-hit online talk show, Joe Rogan Experience, is one of the longest-running podcasts ever and is undeniably the No. 1 in the world today - with 18.4 million listeners on YouTube and 14.5 million on Spotify.

Because of this new medium, mainstream media outlets like news programs and talk shows have taken a major hit - as people are more into honest, authentic conversations than pre-written, scripted lines in network TV.

In a recent episode of JRE featuring his friend and fellow comedian, Dave Smith, Rogan spoke about podcasts derailing network media and opened up on the glaring difference between the consumption of online media from eight years ago to today:

"Think of the difference between 2016 and 2020 and then 2024. Podcasts. Huge. Way different. They all listen to podcasts. Everybody gets clips. You hear opposing perspectives, You hear very intelligent people come on and make arguments that you're not hearing on TV anymore."

Rogan and Smith then pointed out that the numbers for a single episode of JRE alone dwarf those of most network TV news programs today. This is because podcasts today are "so much more intelligent and thoughtful and deep" than any mainstream media program.

Rogan concluded, saying:

"Mainstream media is dead. That's a wrap, son."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (2:10:03):

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Joe Rogan criticizes mainstream media for their lack of authenticity

Delving deeper into mainstream media vs. podcasts, Joe Rogan and Dave Smith also discussed the latter's heated on-air debate with CNN's Chris Cuomo. Smith mentioned the CNN analyst implied he was being outrageous and loud just to get more viewers to his podcast.

To this, Rogan said (1:33:52):

"They think that way. That's why they're accusing you of that. That's a motivation for people that are in that industry. If you're in the f**king industry of being a mouthpiece for network news, there's a narrow window of behavior that you have to operate under."

Rogan added:

"There's a culture [of] a way people think about that and this is your job. So you're gonna do the things that you think are going to get you more ratings... That's how you're thinking. It's the wrong way to think when you're on the internet."