Reply #30: More Corporate Downsizing [View All]

[KharmaTrain]

It's been a tough time for broadcast and cable companies. Advertising bucks have shrunk and long-term debts keep digging NewsCorp and other large corporates into further financial mess. That's a good thing in the long run as they'll face a fate similar to the airlines were they'll have to divest and then the bottom falls out of their stock prices and leads to further divesting. But, it also means a cheaper, shriller and more sensationalitic TV.

MSNBC brought in Dan Abrams to downscale that operation. The prime time will once again be mostly retreads of Dateline and other NBC News "investigative" (exploitive/tabloid) shows that will draw bigger "numbers" than hard news and costs a lot less to produce or manufacture. Faux has lost a lot of its cable sports business and the News audience has shrunk over the past two years...its taking its toll, but it's not gonna be a high profile face like an O'Reilly or Hannity...it'll be an underling...a producer here, a writer or two there and a bunch of the smaller fish.

If anything, I see the Ingraham experiment as the latest attempt to turn this sow into a silk purse. 10 years ago Imus saw some "promise" in this babe and had her set up to do a show adjacent to his on MSNBC. The show was abysmal...not just because the show was rabid Clinton-hate (Faux eats that stuff alive), but her video presence is zero. She has no charisma or even an engaging personality. She's got a "face for radio". But then Faux is catering to the hate radio crowd. This is the next step...combining radio and TV talk shows.