The Overton Window and the Shifting Landscape of American Media
How Corporate News Shapes Public Discourse
In contemporary American politics, the Overton Window serves as a powerful framework for understanding how political ideas and policies shift over time. Defined as the range of ideas deemed acceptable within the public discourse, the Overton Window helps us understand how media, particularly corporate-sponsored outlets, influence what is seen as reasonable or extreme. In the context of the current American red/blue political duopoly, mainstream corporate media has become the gatekeeper for this window, shaping public opinion through carefully curated narratives. However, as traditional cable news viewership declines and public faith in mainstream institutions erodes, independent media is emerging as a powerful force for pushing ideas that lie outside the boundaries of the window, challenging the prevailing neoliberal and neoconservative consensus.
Corporate Media and the Overton Window: Framing the Debate
At its core, the Overton Window reflects the range of acceptable ideas that are put forth in the public sphere. Mainstream media, particularly corporate-sponsored outlets, play a central role in defining the limits of this window. Through selective coverage, narrative framing, and a strong editorial influence, these outlets determine which policies, ideologies, and figures are considered legitimate, and which are dismissed as fringe or radical. This media control aligns closely with the interests of corporate elites, who often benefit from a neoliberal economic agenda and a neoconservative foreign policy stance.
Corporate news outlets, such as Fox News and MSNBC, serve as the primary examples of how this dynamic plays out. These two major networks, while appearing to represent opposing sides of the political spectrum, largely function within the same narrow ideological bounds. On the surface, Fox News caters to a conservative audience, promoting conservative social values and a sabre-rattling toward one group of advesaries. In contrast, MSNBC positions itself as the voice of the left, advocating for progressive social policies on issues like immigration, abortion and LGBTQ rights. All the while, being aggressive to some other foreign cohort. But beneath the surface, all corporate-sponsored outlets largely agree on many critical issues, especially when it comes to the most important topics of economic policy and foreign intervention.
This alignment reveals a crucial point: the boundaries of the Overton Window are defined by the ideological divides reflected in left- or right-wing corporate sponsored legacy media narratives. What’s most revealing, however, is what’s not covered by either. The policies and ideas most often excluded from mainstream debate—such as anti-imperialist foreign policy, critiques of neoliberal economic systems, or radical economic reforms like increasing taxes on the wealthy—are the ones most worth paying attention to. When both Fox News and MSNBC agree on certain issues, particularly in the realm of foreign policy or economic priorities, it signals a corporate consensus that benefits the political and economic elites. For example, both networks tend to frame U.S. military interventions abroad as necessary for national security, even when these actions contribute to rising national debt and do little for Americans at home. Similarly, they often sidestep critical conversations about wealth inequality, the hollowing out of American industries, and the failures of global capitalism. Class is the third rail in mainstream media discourse. The left populist platform of Bernie Sanders was actively suppressed in 2016 and 2020 with greater gusto and vigor by Democratic Party aperathniks and the entireity of mainstream media than was applied to the Hillary Clinton and Harris campaigns.
This shared ideological ground between seemingly opposing media outlets is not coincidental; it’s the result of corporate interests shaping the boundaries of acceptable discourse. The media’s role in enforcing this narrow range of ideas means that the most insidious forms of corporate/state propaganda often come from those places where the left and right are in agreement—essentially unchallenged by mainstream discourse. This serves to preserve the status quo, ensuring that the powerful interests that fund both corporate media outlets continue to maintain their dominance. You can tear down statues of dead white male colonial oppressors all you want, but if you challenge real power, you will be banned and marginalized. Ask activists, journalists or health care workers having espoused pro-Palestinian anti-genocide views about that.
The Crisis of Faith: A Populist Backlash Against the Status Quo
Over the past two decades, America has witnessed a growing populist backlash against the elites and institutions that have long shaped the political landscape. The decline of traditional cable news viewership is one of the clearest indicators of this shift. As more and more people turn away from mainstream outlets like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, dissatisfaction with the prevailing political order has grown, particularly among working-class Americans who feel left behind by both major political parties.
The crisis of public faith in corporate media is closely linked to broader discontent with neoliberal economic policies and neoconservative foreign interventionism. On the economic front, globalization and automation have led to the outsourcing of American jobs, wage stagnation, and an erosion of the social safety net. While corporate media continues to promote the idea that these policies are inevitable or beneficial in the long run, millions of Americans have seen their communities ravaged by deindustrialization and the hollowing out of good-paying jobs. The result is a deepening frustration with the status quo, as well as a growing sense that the political system no longer serves the interests of ordinary people.
Similarly, the failures of neoconservative militarism abroad—exemplified by endless wars abroad and rising national debt—have left many Americans feeling disillusioned with foreign policy elites. Despite trillions of dollars spent on military interventions, few tangible benefits have been delivered to Americans at home. Instead, the national debt has ballooned, while domestic issues such as climate change, healthcare, education, and infrastructure remain underfunded. The contrast between the priorities of the political establishment and the real needs of the American public has fueled growing skepticism about the motives behind these policies.
Independent Media: A New Window for Ideas
In response to the failure of corporate media to address these issues, many Americans have turned to independent media outlets that provide alternative perspectives and challenge the narratives put forth by mainstream outlets. Platforms like YouTube, podcasts, Substack, and independent news sites have given voice to ideas that were once considered radical or outside the Overton Window.
Independent media outlets are increasingly filling the gap left by corporate-sponsored news, offering new perspectives on economic policy, foreign intervention, and social justice. For example, progressive economic policies such as universal healthcare, a living wage, and public investment in green technologies, once seen as fringe ideas, are now gaining traction in mainstream political debates—thanks, in part, to the amplification of these ideas by independent media voices. Similarly, anti-interventionist foreign policies and resistance to state censorship through deplatforming and shadow bans, which were once considered unpatriotic or naïve, are being embraced by a growing number of Americans who question the wisdom of state censorship, endless wars and military spending.
Independent media also plays a crucial role in exposing the failures of corporate-sponsored news and holding elites accountable. With a more transparent and decentralized model of information dissemination, independent outlets are better positioned to expose corruption, bias, and conflicts of interest in the political system (think Twitter Files), providing the public with a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the issues at hand. This has led to a growing awareness of the need for systemic change, which is reflected in the rising popularity of independent media.
The Future of the Overton Window: Emergent Ideas and the Power of Independent Media
As the influence of corporate media continues to wane, the Overton Window is expanding to include ideas that were once considered outside the mainstream. Independent media outlets are playing a key role in this shift by incubating new ideas, fostering critical debates, and providing a platform for voices that challenge the political and economic establishment. In this sense, independent media serves as a breeding ground for the next generation of political discourse, where even "radical" ideas can be refined and eventually brought into the mainstream.
For example, proposals for deescalating great power competition, raising taxes, Medicare for All, and a critique of Zionism or the influence of AIPAC money interfereing with American elections absent the slander of antisemitism—once viewed as radical by corporate media—are now part of serious political conversations. The growing viewership and influence of independent media are a testament to the deep desire for change among the American populace, reflecting a rejection of the neoliberal and neoconservative policies that have dominated the political landscape for decades.
Today only topics that don’t challenge the increasing disparity in wealth are allowed in commercially-sponsored discourse. Deviating from these bounds invites mockery, marginalization and McCarthyistic purity tests. Excellent Journalists, like Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Chris Hedges, Briahna Joy Gray, Thomas Frank, Max Blumenthal, Tucker Carlson and many others who challenged these norms found themselves excommunicated from mainstream platforms. Often, due to the shallowness of ideological silos incapable of imagining something other than the duoploly, these journalists are labled “right-wing.” Ideological programming like the largely debunked Russiagate psyop mobilized by the 2016 Clinton campaign blind adherents to any consideration of history and nuance, so filled with propaganda they become. Other politicians and public figures like Tulsi Gabbert, Rashida Tlaib, Joe Rogan, Jose Vega, and George Galloway have experienced similar villification.
And speaking of shifting windows, it’s hard to ignore the recent plummeting ratings of MSNBC in the wake of the 2024 election. With the return of Trump to the White House, Americans had a collective “meh” moment when it came to the Blue MAGA pundits. Rachel Maddow, Morning Joe, and Joy Reid are facing salary cuts under NBC's new strategy to spin off MSNBC from the parent brand. It seems like they’ve finally realized that with cable TV subscriptions are tanking, watching sycophants, Joe and Mika travel to Mar Lago and kiss the ring isn’t exactly the hot new thing. Similarly, the ladies on The View look to be shopping for cake at Safeway in the future rather than an upscale Staten Island bakery, and viewers will have fewer retractions and legal notes to process.
In conclusion, the Overton Window is not a fixed entity. It is shaped by the ideas that are allowed to enter public discourse and those that are excluded. In the United States, corporate-sponsored media has long held the power to define the boundaries of this window, reinforcing the interests of political and economic elites. However, as more Americans turn to independent media for alternative perspectives, the window is expanding, and new, even "radical," ideas are emerging. The increasing viewership and influence of independent media signals a growing desire for change and a potential shift in the political landscape, one where the Overton Window may no longer be controlled by the corporate and political elites, but by the people themselves. And perhaps, just maybe, the folks at MSNBC and Fox News will be forced to reckon with that reality in their next salary negotiation.