CNN LOSES 63% OF AUDIENCE OVER INAUGURATION 2001

[RockStar]

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash7.htm
Maybe if they reported the truth....

CNN LOSES 63% OF AUDIENCE OVER INAUGURATION 2001
Fri Jan 21 2005 23:52:24 2005

CNN hemorrhaged more than half their audience from the 2001 Inauguration, overnights show. The troubled news network only averaged 779,000 viewers during yesterday's Inauguration coverage from 10am-4pm with just 168,000 of those viewers landing in the coveted 25-54 demo.

Like CNN, MSNBC also suffered major losses, only averaging 438,000 viewers throughout yesterday's coverage (141,000 in 25-54), down a whopping 68% over 2001 and faring even worse in primetime with just 385,000 viewers.

In contrast, Fox News averaged 2,581,000 viewers from 10a-4p (up 30% over 2001) and their 25-54 demo average of 705,000 came close to CNN's total coverage ratings yesterday.

PRIMETIME:

FNC -- 2,439,000 (up 57% OVER '01)
CNN -- 1,353,000 (down 14% over '01)
MSNBC -- 385,000 (down 47% over '01)



Developing...

[tuvor]

1. "Reported the truth"? Then how do you explain Fox's surge? n/t

[coloradodem2005]

9. Because the right wingers are more monolithically behind Fox.

They feel that Fox is their network. On the other hand, CNN and MSNBC anre Fox lite. The wingers are watching Fox and everyone else is disaffected. So they say fuck all of them.

[Cobalt Violet]

27. I wish they would realize that.

I think they will keep trying to go righter, and righter. They will do the opposite of what makes sense to do.

[coloradodem2005]

29. THen I hope they enjoy falling into the gutter.

Because they deserve it.

[Cobalt Violet]

52. Absolutely!

[Clark2008]

43. I had hopes that MSNBC would be the one

because there are times when Tweety is lucid and Keith Olbermann is nearly always right on.

Hasn't KO's show shown marked increases over the past two months? I think he went up 128 from October to November and November to December's numbers showed he was now whooping CNN's Paula Zahn. You'd think those numbers would show the executive's something.

[RockStar]

10. Fox surge is due to stupid Christian Republicans who want their version of

the news. Nobody caters to the truth anymore maybe reuters, amy woodman (democracy now) , wired news, and internatioanl news organizations like the ones avaialable on dish network from spain, mexico, russia, etc.

[sweetbutterfly]

21. signature

I like your signature...include Bosnia and Kosovo in that list.

[tuvor]

22. Welcome to DU, sweetbutterfly!

:hi:

[sweetbutterfly]

24. Thanks! : )

[RockStar]

25. Thanks I will

[bliss_eternal]

26. Welcome to DU RockStar!

and thanks for the stats--this is interesting!

[Cheswick2.0]

46. So stupid republican Jews, agnostics, muslims etc... don't watch Fox?

Which channel do stupid republican non christians watch?

[yardwork]

51. Are there any stupid agnostics? I've never met one.

It takes a certain amount of intelligence and courage to admit to being agnostic.

[Syrinx]

2. it would be easy for CNN or MSNBC to increase their ratings

All they have to do is to pander to the liberal viewpoint as Fox panders to the right-wingers. Easy-peasy.

[zann725]

7. Obviously they need to learn the hard way.

n/t

[Still_Loves_John]

17. I like to think we're better than that

I don't want a network that tells me what I want to hear; I want a network that tells the truth.

Also: Even if it did have a liberal slant, I wouldn't want the equivalent of Fox. I think what really bugs me about Fox, even more than it's rightward slant, is the way is seems like Sportscenter or something. They fill the screen with gigantic, gaudy graphics and pummell you with martial music in a way that makes the other networks look like PBS, all their male anchors have no necks, and all their female anchors look like variants of Pamela Anderson.

It's like news for people with ADD. Part of me wonders if that is the real reason behind it's success--it can attract people who are normally bored by the news. In that case its even more insidious, because it's not preaching to the choir, it's recruiting people. Stupid people, yes, but they vote too.

Sorry, this post was rambling, but I've had those thoughts in my head for a long time and needed to get them out. And its late.

[TreasonousBastard]

31. You got it...

a couple of years ago I watched one of those Roundtables on PBS that had a lot of serious newspeople on it. Some of them showed up on NPR for a sort of followup.

Several local news directors said that they went for serious news, with in-depth stories and analysis, and their ratings dropped like a stone. Every one of them had to go back to "happy news" with giggling, jiggling anchors and the big graphics to stay in business.

Going back to the early days of TeeVee news, the Fairness Doctrine and license requirements for public service said that networks and stations had to have a set time allotment for news. Since it was required, no one loked too much at the balance sheet, and they competed on news quality, such as they could.

All that is gone, and the news is a profit center now. Ratings are everything, and the news is just something else to sell.

"Network" saw it coming years ago. I could swear Fox and CNN used it as a model for their makeovers.

Personally, after the first few years of CNN, when it actually had news on it, I couldn't watch any cable news at all. The news channels aren't news, but some news just kind of mixed in the midst of massive bloviation.

[Syrinx]

32. you're right of course

I wasn't endorsing a liberal version of Fox, but just saying...

[fujiyama]

36. Well said

I have a friend that was once talking about Fox News graphics. He was into graphics design and said it'd be cool to do the graphics for them because they were so over the top.

Apparently one of them was of an eagle transorming itself into an F16.

Then he said he remembered he'd be workin for Fox News.

[high density]

18. I don't think I want "liberal news" any more than I want Fox News.

I think it's going to be years before the corporate slant is dropped from the news, though. Lately CNN has been doing a lot of this Fox News-ish "your security/be afraid!" coverage that makes me want to be puke.

[roguevalley]

3. Its simple. When its real news, Fox tanks. When its celebrating

stupidity or propoganda moments in the History of the Bund, they do well. Still, consider they only reach 2.5 million on a GOOD day. They are I believed perceived as more influential than they are. Consider there are, what, 160,000,000 people watching television every day?

[tuvor]

11. For example: I saw an article about how poorly they covered the tsunami?

My guess is because reporting the news is not their role.

I know it's a stretch, but....

[diamond14]

4. you can't believe anything that drudge publishes...it's mostly LIES

I suspect that many people watched C-span, which covered the protests as well as the coronation making much more interesting watching....

[Indiana_Dem]

33. Yes, I wonder what c-span's ratings were...

they do a fairly good job of just reporting and showing both sides. If I watched anything at all it was on c-span 2 with the protests, everynow and then I flipped to c-span 1 for a minute of coronation then switched back to protests.

They never look at c-span's ratings.

[zann725]

5. Faux only did best because of Right Wing, Gaudy nature of Inauguration

...IF we can believe Ratings. We did once trust Exit Polls, remember?

[in_cog_ni_to]

6. Good! I hope they go down in flames!

They deserve it. If they would like the MAJORITY of viewers perhaps they should cater to the MAJORITY Party in this country...THE DEMOCRATS! The idiots decided they should compete for the RW wackos that Faux News gets instead of sticking with the "sure" thing, we Democrats. CNN sucks now and I'm glad their ratings suck.

[sandnsea]

8. Only Bushbots wanted to watch

And wanted to be sure they got 100% Bush brown nosing. So they all went to Fox. Only 4 million were excited enough about Bush to watch. What a mandate.

[rumpel]

12. any info C-Span2?

[high density]

13. So only right-wingers wanted to watch the "inauguration" ...

Why is that such a surprise?

[isit2008yet]

14. Most of these posts are correct in one way or another..

51 percent of our citizens voted for our stupid Commander-in-thief. That 51% is the dumber half of America. Now add on top of all that, no self respecting dem would watch faux news

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. Small correction.

51% did not vote for him. They stole the election. If 51% voted for him on Nov. 2 why was his approval rating ar 44% on inaugeration day? I know why. Because he lost the damn election.

[AliciaKeyedUp]

41. Small addenda

Remember, a lot of people do not vote, but that doesn't mean they like Bush.

[UdoKier]

15. You can't outFox Fox because the Fox Fux are true believers.

CNN needs to get out of the right wing shill business and get back to being a real News organization as they were under Ted Turner.

COME BACK TED!

[I_equals_PRT]

38. LOL, "Fox Fux" beautifully succinct! Thanks! n/t

[Still_Loves_John]

19. Makes sense, really

Fox is kind of the Republican network, and it figures that most people who didn't vote for Bush wouldn't watch the inauguration.

[bluestateguy]

20. If it was a Kerry inaugural the numbers would be reversed

The Goopers would all retreat to talk radio for the day and people on our side watching would probably pick CNN as the lesser of three evils.

[sonicx]

23. why watch a FUX clone when you can watch the real thing

[Benhurst]

28. Less that five million viewers for all three -- out of 300 million people.

It never ceases to amaze me who few people actually watch cable news, considering how much influence it claims to have.

[Eric J in MN]

30. Drudge didn't say if Fox News is up or down for the event

compared with 2000.

[LiberalPersona]

34. I don't know

about the truth of the numbers, but it's quite obvious what happened if they are. A large portion of CNN's viewers were protesting by either going to the streets or not watching the coronation.

[theresistance]

35. This is hard to believe

Goebbels couldn't have created a better news network for the establishment than PoxNews. Although I must admit that CNN is damn boring sometimes, with endless business and Asia shows blah, blah, blahing for hours.

[fujiyama]

37. This is well...

obvious. As some other posters pointed out the RW is behind Fox lock and step. They won't give it up regardless of how much CNN and MSNBC try to pander to them. Don't forget this was on a weekday that too. Only the frothing at the mouth freepers were watching it.

Also, why would those that didn't vote for him or those that dislike him watch the fuckin inauguration? I didn't watch one second of it and it made my day a lot easier.

[ashiebr]

39. CNN is losing iys viewers...

...because it's trying to be Fox Lite. But it hasn't gained one RW Extremist and is losing moderates.

[NewJeffCT]

48. agreed 100%

I just posted in another thread on this...and, since I'm too lazy to retype.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2998022&mesg_id=2998047

Conservatives have been pounding the "liberal media" crap into our heads for so long that it has sunk into the mainstream consciousness... now, every time something goes against Republicans, they first blame liberal media bias. If something goes for the Republicans, it is in spite of liberal media bias.

Unfortunately, we do not have nearly as coordinated an effort in response from our side.

[rman]

40. Ratings would soar

if only they'd start spilling the beans on corporate control over the media and government - reality is absolutely fascinating.

But then again why would corporations allow their mouth pieces to say things that would hurt corporations?

[Walt Starr]

42. CNN is to broadcast 24X7 news what the Democrats are to politics

when they keep failing, they keep going further to the right which results in even more failures.

[formernaderite]

44. I'll go against the general stream and say

that Fox is doing well despite it's obvious center-right stance. Why?

Because it's diluted news, which appeals to the superficial viewer. I can't watch it for very long because it's rapid coverage makes every subject seem vapid. It's like Sesame street for grown-ups. In 60 seconds or less we'll tell you everything you need to know.

[DoYouEverWonder]

45. Becoming more like FAUX

is not going to save CNN or MSNBC.

Half the country voted for Kerry, over a million women marched on DC a couple of years ago, and a million marched in NYC for the Repug Fest. This is the audience they should start to cater to.

This is the group that FAUX will never get. This is the group that is now turning to the Internet for information and the truth. If CNN and MSNBC started to put people on and do shows that address the issues we are concerned about, then I would probably turn the TV back on again.

At this point, most of us are getting our MSM news from John Stewart on the Comedy Channel. Someone needs to tell the execs at CNN and MSNBC to buy a clue. There's a good reason why Olbermann is the only news reader that has a fan club on DU.

[wildwww2]

47. Why watch these propagandists on TV? I know how to read.

I do not need to be entertained by corporate stooges. Who`s bosses give Bu$h Nazi Co. big bucks 10 to 1 over the Democrats. Anyone with a tiny bit of brains would figure out it was biased. Of course havig a tiny bit of brains. Is giving way too much credit to your average Republican.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[alexisfree]

49. this is very intersting.....

thank you for your post ....and yes welcome to DU!!!!!!!!!!:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[DemonFighterLives]

50. If there was any confidence in the election

I may have tuned in for the inauguration. This Fraud* who was installed means very little to me. In fact the whole bunch of them and their parties disgusted me. There is no truth or honesty in them. I don't cherish having the country bankrupted and being lied to. Seems to work for some though.
Maybe time to write CNN and MSNBC to rub their noses in this.

[WI_DEM]

53. The reason is simple

as to why Fox cleaned up--the only people who cared to watch were die hard republicans and they know that Fox is their network (but CNN and MSNBC are not far behind).