CNN Co-Founder: “CNN’s Ratings Have Gone Down The Drain” (2)
CNN co-founder Reese Schonfeld tells the Huffington Post (huh, why would a CNN man go there to post?) that “seven months after Barack Obama’s victory, CNN’s ratings have gone down the drain”:
Nine years ago, when FoxNews sprinted past CNN to become America’s number one news network, I attributed its ratings gains to the election of George Bush and the triumph of Fox-watching conservatives. I figured conservatives would be savoring their victory while liberals were averting their eyes in disgust. For the next eight years, I measured political sentiment in the United States by comparing the size of the FoxNews audience with the combined size of the CNN/MSNBC audience. In this space, I even predicted, with reasonable accuracy, the percent by which Barack Obama won the election based on the split in the news audience.
Now, seven months after Barack Obama’s victory, CNN’s ratings have gone down the drain. From May of last year to May of this year, CNN lost 22% of its total primetime audience. MSNBC was down 2%, while FoxNews was up 24%. In the key advertising demographic (25-54), Fox was up 31%, CNN was down 37% and MSNBC was down 26%. In hard numbers, Fox had 109,000 more viewers than last year while CNN lost 113,000. CNN averaged fewer than 200,000 25-54 viewers in primetime. Even MSNBC averaged more viewers than that.
Total day was nearly as bad, with Fox up 24% and CNN down 7%. MSNBC was down 2% in total viewing. Fox is beating CNN almost two-to-one in most categories.
There’s no need to throw any more numbers at you–Fox is gaining, CNN is wilting. Why is this happening when the country still seems about 58-42 in favor of Obama? My best guess is the passion of those who detest Democrats, liberals, and in particular, Barack Obama.
You don’t think it could also have anything to do with moments such as this and this, do you? And as P.J. Gladnick of Newsbusters asks, “Maybe the TV audience is growing weary of the MSM treating Barack Obama as Sort of God and want some realistic news coverage of his administration.”
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Updates:
4:00 pm EDT, June 8th, 2009 — Classic
4:02 pm EDT, June 8th, 2009 — TV-B-Gone Universal TV Power Remote Control Keychain
Popularity: 29% [?]
Male, retired and the rest is of little interest to anyone. The site keeps me busy and if it helps others to stay abreast of daily events then my time is well spent.
Fred Says:
So blind & compliant Obamassiah butt kissing isn’t working for the Clinton News Network ?
The question remains – will CNN’s suicide be quicker that the New York times ?
Who cares eh ?
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Jack Says:
I look at the numbers and can’t help thinking about Gordon Brown’s predicament.
Could it be a sign of things to come?
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Cynapse Says:
They need to spice it up with some shouting and blind partisanship. “News” is not interesting any longer and hasn’t been. In economic times it is even more important to exploit ugly sentiment.
But Fox has the right wing lynch mob on lockdown, so CNN should pull a FOX and go boldly in the other direction. Extremes are entertaining.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Jack Says:
It’s all Wolf Blitzers fault.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Jen Says:
A lesson for what they did to sarah palin, joe the plummer and hiding the secret tapes of obama from the public.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
What goes around comes around. Next in line….Obama?
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
ward Says:
No one watches CNN for the same reason no one watches CBC. People don’t like to be treated to propaganda. Fox is hardly right wing. Greta, Shep smith, Major Garret are all Liberals. Orielly tends to be a bit to the right of them but hardly a right winger. Glen Beck is most certainly conservative.
If you look at their panels there is always representation from both sides of the aisle.
Juxtapose that against CNN or the CBC. You simply will not find anyone remotely right of center.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Jema54 Says:
Ward is correct, we watch Fox news because it is interesting and factual. As for CNN, boring…the ‘news’ is gossip and they are gushers for the new President; a man I do not trust or admire. The msm in Canada is worse than the American counterparts (over the moon for the American President) and the msm in Canada dispise PMSH, a man I do respect, trust and like.
I agree with Fred – good riddance, indocternation by Bolsheviks is so ‘passe’.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Ed Driscoll Says:
“Posted by Jack”, if not necessarily originally written by him.
Seriously though — thanks for the link; if next time you attributed the original author before block-quoting his text (as I did before quoting Schonfeld”s item at the HuffPost), I’m sure he’d appreciate it even more.
Regards,
Ed
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Jack Says:
I’ll try to remember Ed. I’m still learning.
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Mac Says:
Out of curiosity, does anyone truly believe that the only thing sustaining Fox’s growth and dominance is the supposed “right wing lynch mod” thing? Seriously… if the extremism some claim is Fox’s only redeeming quality, is there truly a correlation between the growth of Fox and the precipitous drop in viewership of CNN & MSNBC? Would the same people who elected The One really appreciate the supposed Fox attack programming so much that they’re abandoning networks? Does that make sense to anyone?
Perhaps there’s more to Fox than some folks would like us to believe.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
I forget the stats, but a fairly significant percentage of regular FOX viewers in the USA identify themselves as democrats. I think it was in the 40% percentage or so range. They claim they watch FOX to get the both sides of the story, which they don’t get elsewhere.
Posted on June 8th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
fernstalbert Says:
I love Fox News. I record all the afternoon and evening programming and watch it at my leisure. The fast forward button is a godsend. The Saturday morning lineup is especially good with all the stock market/economic analysis. Fox News Watch and Journal Editorial Report are the highlights of my Saturday viewing. If I was looking for boring, dry opinions, I`d watch the weather report from the Weather Channel. Cheers.
Posted on June 9th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Cynapse Says:
Mac:
Of course that’s who they play to, but that doesn’t mean that the station only attracts right-wingers. Howard Stern said long ago that many people tune into his shows just to get mad at him. He stirs emotions. So does Rush. So does Al Franken. So does FOX News. All you have to do is take a strong position and be bombastic about it.
FOX can’t find a good word to say about Obama, Democrats or anything liberal. Hannity used to pal around with Hal Turner (google it) for goodness, sake. There’s nothing fair or balanced about them … but it’s good dramatic TV.
Posted on June 9th, 2009 at 8:19 am
John Luft Says:
CNN (like the CBC) is a propaganda organ pure and simple. And when the “news” doesn’t align with their view of the world, they spin it so it does. The further away from reality they get, the lower their numbers. THAT is why it is going down the toilet. All the rationalization in the world is not going to change that fact.
Posted on June 9th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Cynapse Says:
Shouting pundits is not news. It’s personal validation. They’re just confiirming what you want to hear and nothing more.
Posted on June 9th, 2009 at 10:43 am
beentheredonethat Says:
“FOX can’t find a good word to say about Obama, Democrats or anything liberal.”
That statement is absolutely false. I don’t know where you are getting your information, but it is not first hand otherwise you wouldn’t be making such a statement. If it is first hand then you are only hearing what you want to hear. Good grief, I have heard the so often maligned by the left Bill O’Reilly comment on more times than I care to remember give Obama the benefit of the doubt or come out in outright support of Obama. I am finding Hannity more and more a little too rabid for my liking. His ‘liberal translation’ seqment drives me nuts. I have lost a bit of my enthusiasm for watching Glenn Beck as well and primarily because like Hannity, neither of them seem to ever cut the ‘opposition’ any slack for anything. All that aside, FOX absolutely lives up to its motto ‘We Report You Decide’. They actually provide a product that allows, actually encourages a viewer to think for themselves, rather than just telling us what to think like as the rest of their dying competitors in the industry do. Did you know that a couple of weeks ago FOX postponed an interview because the liberal guest couldn’t make it and it was that important to the network that both sides be represented? Admitedly there might be some occasional digressions but generally speaking journalistic ethics are the rule of the day. Just one reason why FOX is slaying the competition.
Posted on June 9th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
John Luft Says:
CNN needs to learn that parading their own opinions as “news” has few takers. That is what the left wing media always does. It is also why when something happens in the world that does not align with the left wing view of the media, people are surprised. No doubt. When you have been told for years by a biased media that black is white and then you get dragged into the real world, you tend to be shocked.
Posted on June 9th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
EcoAZ Says:
This is what happens when journalistic ethics are abandoned for the sparkle of tabloid-and-propaganda-land.
Zero credibility.
Posted on July 8th, 2009 at 9:21 am