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Donald Trump is bringing conservative media — a multi-billion-dollar industry — to Sarasota County.

Driving the news: Trump Media and Technology Group Corp., which owns social media app Truth Social, registered as a business in Florida earlier this month, using an office building on North Cattlemen Road in Sarasota as its address, per the Herald-Tribune.

Just 11 miles down the road, Canadian media company Rumble, a video platform commonly used by conservatives, recently made Longboat Key its U.S. headquarters.

Why it matters: Rumble, which also powers Truth Social's back-end technology, is expected to merge with special purpose acquisition company CF Acquisition Corp, which would make it worth $2 billion.

Rumble moved to Longboat Key last month despite Sarasota County rescinding the company's $825,000 incentive grant in response to community backlash over its broadcasting of Russian media after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

The big picture: Florida has become a popular destination for conservative media upstarts — Newsmax, the cable network owned by Chris Ruddy, is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

Tampa has become a hub for young Republicans and conservative media influencers.

Dan Bongino, a well-known conservative podcaster, lives in Palm City.

Plus: Jimmy Finkelstein, most recently the owner of political newspaper and website The Hill, is planning to launch a new media company that will have its base in Florida — where Finkelstein now resides.

The Hill has come under fire in the past for pushing conspiracy theories about Ukraine and for his ties to former President Trump.

State of play: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not generally friendly toward progressive media. Last week, DeSantis asked legislators to repeal a law that allows the Walt Disney World Resort to operate as a self-governing body, in response to Disney's position against a law that he recently signed, dubbed by critics "Don't Say Gay."

Be smart: In addition to Florida, Nashville is proving to also be a center for conservative media companies. The Daily Wire moved its headquarters to Nashville from California last year. 

Parler, the Twitter alternative often used by conservatives, is based in Nashville.

With Trump and Rumble, Florida becomes conservative media HQ

Former President Donald Trump's social media company and Canadian media company Rumble have both made Sarasota their home.

Illustration of a map of Florida, with a social media notifications icon with an elephant pinned on the map.

Donald Trump is bringing conservative media — a multi-billion-dollar industry — to Sarasota County.Driving the news: Trump Media and Technology Group Corp., which owns social media app <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Truth Social" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/trump-blowing-truth-social-launch-c2d4f1f0-5440-478a-acfa-b9462b64568c.html" data-vars-content-id="3aeb78bf-670c-46b8-8fe5-142c2d1048af" data-vars-headline="With Trump and Rumble, Florida becomes conservative media HQ" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/trump-blowing-truth-social-launch-c2d4f1f0-5440-478a-acfa-b9462b64568c.html" target="_self">Truth Social</a>, registered as a business in Florida earlier this month, using an office building on North Cattlemen Road in Sarasota as its address, per the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Herald-Tribune" data-vars-click-url="https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/columns/2022/04/24/trump-establishes-social-media-company-sarasota-florida-near-rumble-elon-musk-twitter/7434302001/" data-vars-content-id="3aeb78bf-670c-46b8-8fe5-142c2d1048af" data-vars-headline="With Trump and Rumble, Florida becomes conservative media HQ" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/columns/2022/04/24/trump-establishes-social-media-company-sarasota-florida-near-rumble-elon-musk-twitter/7434302001/" target="_blank">Herald-Tribune</a>.<ul><li>Just 11 miles down the road, Canadian media company Rumble, a video platform commonly used by conservatives, recently made Longboat Key its U.S. headquarters.</li></ul>

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Florida is one of the states most frequently targeted by dark money news sites — partisan-backed outlets made to look like impartial news sources.

Why it matters: The sites are designed to influence politics and deceive readers, and there are now more of them than real, local daily newspapers in the country.

That's according to a new report from NewsGuard, a misinformation tracking company.

How it works: These websites are often referred to as "pink slime," a term that originated in the ground beef industry.

In media, it describes politically motivated websites masquerading as independent local news outlets.

Zoom in: An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight found political operatives working for Florida Power & Light took over The Capitolist, a Tallahassee-based political website, ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Executives at the state's largest utility were given influence over the site's coverage, leaked records showed.

Floodlight later identified a half-dozen other sites with financial ties to the same consultants.

By the numbers: There are at least 1,265 websites in the U.S. backed by dark money or intentionally masquerading as local news sites for political purposes, per NewsGuard.

Nearly half (45%) were targeted at communities or regions in swing states, according to an Axios analysis of the sites.

The most frequently targeted states are Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Georgia.

The big picture: The rapid decline of local newspapers has left a void that partisan actors on both sides of the political spectrum are eager to exploit.

The rise of artificial intelligence and new content generation tools have made it easier, faster and cheaper to build and market those outlets online.

With so much news and information distributed through social media and search networks, the quality of a site often doesn't determine if it will find an audience.

Florida frequently targeted by dark money news outlets, report finds

These sites are designed to influence politics and deceive readers.

Illustration of a hand in a suit using a tiny computer on a chain to hypnotize

Florida is one of the states most frequently targeted by dark money news sites — partisan-backed outlets made to look like impartial news sources.Why it matters: The sites are designed to influence politics and deceive readers, and there are now more of them than real, local daily newspapers in the country.

News

Newspapers are dying out faster than expected. 

What's happening: So many local papers shuttered this year that analysts now believe the U.S. will have lost one-third of the newspapers it had as of 2005 by the end of next year.

Analysts originally predicted this would happen in 2025.

Why it matters: Most communities that lose a local newspaper usually do not get a replacement, even online.

By the numbers: There are roughly 6,000 newspapers left in the U.S., down from 8,891 in 2005, according to a new report from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

Over the past two years, they vanished at an average rate of more than two per week.

A majority of the surviving papers (4,790) publish weekly, not daily.

Zoom in: Tampa Bay has a relatively thriving newspaper scene, but print journalists are still on edge.

Several area papers are owned by large media companies that have been unstable. The Bradenton Herald is run by McClatchy, which also owns The Miami Herald. The Sarasota-Herald Tribune and the Ledger are owned by Gannett. 

The Tampa Bay Times is owned by Poynter, a media nonprofit that also owns Politifact.

The paper has seen turbulence in the years since purchasing the Tampa Tribune. A few employees were laid off in February, the first layoffs in three years and since longtime chairman and CEO Paul Tash stepped down last July.

Creative Loafing, an alt-weekly, has changed ownership hands several times over the years. The Cleveland-based company that bought it in 2018 was purchased by a San Antonio-based company in August.

Other small papers include The Gabber, which claims to be Florida's oldest independent weekly newspaper; Watermark, a bi-weekly LGBTQ newspaper; La Gaceta, a tri-lingual weekly newspaper based in Ybor; and The Laker/Lutz News, two free weeklies delivered to homes in Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect that Paul Tash stepped down as chairman and CEO of the Tampa Bay Times last July, not last January.

U.S. newspapers in critical danger. Where Tampa Bay's papers stand

U.S. newspapers are dying out faster than expected.

Illustration of a skull and bones made out of newspaper

Newspapers are dying out faster than expected. What&#x27;s happening: So many local papers shuttered this year that analysts now believe the U.S. will have lost one-third of the newspapers it had as of 2005 by the end of next year.<ul><li>Analysts <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="originally predicted" data-vars-click-url="https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/06/newspapers-close-decline-in-local-journalism/" data-vars-content-id="aec317c4-a72e-4dce-8308-ca953e2599dd" data-vars-headline="U.S. newspapers in critical danger. Where Tampa Bay&#x27;s papers stand" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/06/newspapers-close-decline-in-local-journalism/" target="_blank">originally predicted</a> this would happen in 2025.</li></ul>Why it matters: Most communities that lose a local newspaper usually do not get a replacement, even online.

Axios AM

Scoop: Paramount in talks with Katie Miller for podcast deal as it eyes expansion

Scoop: Paramount in talks with Katie Miller for podcast deal

National

Media Deals

Legacy media spins age as its advantage

Exclusive: ProPublica expands to California

A column chart that shows ProPublicaâs annual revenue from 2016 to 2025. Revenue rose from $17.23 million in 2016 to $70.47 million in 2025, the series high. It dipped from $45.66 million in 2021 to $42.44 million in 2022, then climbed through 2025.

ProPublica annual revenue

Data: Financial disclosures; Note: Revenue includes earned income, interest and money allocated to the strategic plan campaign. Chart: Sara Fischer/Axios

CNN launches CNN Weather app

Byron Allen strikes deal to buy controlling stake in BuzzFeed and become CEO

A line chart that tracks BuzzFeedâs daily stock price from Dec. 6, 2021, to May 11, 2026. Shares fell from $34.24 at the start to $4.52 on Jan. 12, 2023, $0.87 on Feb. 21, 2024, and $0.73 at the end, near the $0.57 low.

BuzzFeed stock price

Correction: Time range was corrected to reflect BuzzFeed's time as a public company. Data: Financial Modeling Prep; Chart: Christine Wang/Axios

Sara Fischer

Featured stories

Scoop: Paramount in talks with Katie Miller for podcast deal as it eyes expansion

Legacy media spins age as its advantage

Exclusive: ProPublica expands to California

CNN launches CNN Weather app

Byron Allen strikes deal to buy controlling stake in BuzzFeed and become CEO