Digital subscriptions for most newspapers, including the New York Times, are way up since President Trump was elected, but that doesn’t mean that print media is out of the woods, financially.
So it’s probably no surprise that, in addition to selling their content, a number of major news organizations have also taken to selling swag, mostly of the anti-Trump variety. They know their audience, after all—why not milk a few extra bucks out of the legions of “resistance” activists fighting for the right of the media to frequently mis-report on the current administration.
The Washington Post, for example, is selling a nice, cotton tee with their new, hilarious tagline, “Democracy dies in darkness” emblazoned on the front, perfect for a night out on the town, or your next impromptu mooning of Trump Tower. Unfortunately, they might not be appropriate for the next women’s march: in what is surely an unconscious act of sexism, their women’s tees are $2.00 more than the men’s.
The Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, which have the same parent company (Tronc Media), have rolled out several options for their concerned readership. In fact, the Times has an entire “Free Speech” collection, where you can declare your love for the First Amendment in several different languages (Spanish and Arabic included, of course).
They also sell a T-shirt that says, helpfully, “Journalism Matters,” with the hashtag, #nottheenemy printed in tiny letters underneath, in case your shirt somehow ends up morphing into a Twitter account, and a shirt that declares the Times has been printing real news since it was founded in 1881.
The Tribune offers the same shirt with its own founding date.
If those aren’t your style, you can venture out of their “free speech” section to find a shirt that calls the press the “defender of the people,” only it’s printed “enemy of the people” with the “defender” part “written” over it.
Only the New York Times has yet to monetize its commitment to fair and honest journalism in the age of Trump. Of course, its new tagline, claiming that it tells the truth and nothing but the truth may just be days away from being printed on an apparel line.
Of course, if anti-Trump sentiment isn’t your bag, there are plenty of media outlets on the right that will happily sell you a tee shirt. Breitbart‘s store, for example, isn’t subtle. A “Border Wall Construction Co.” tee will run you $20. A shirt expressing a similar sentiment to the Times‘s offerings—”Free Speech is Burning“—is only $19.95.
