- Joined
- Feb 25, 2006
- Messages
- 6,526
- Reaction score
- 12,586
Trump Slump? Cable News Ratings Tank After Election as Viewers Boycott
'I refuse to watch Season Two of the Trump show,' one news boycotter explained.
www.tvinsider.com
Trump Slump? Cable News Ratings Tank After Election as Viewers Boycott
There has long been a conventional wisdom that dedicated daily coverage of Donald Trump‘s outrage-inducing activities equals ratings bumps for cable news networks. That was certainly true during his first administration, where the 24/7 news cycle was routinely dominated by talking head panels dissecting one scandal after another ad nauseam as viewers clung to every update like a liferaft. After he left office in 2021, the major networks’ ratings nosedived. This time, though, the story might be very different, as some of those would-be anti-Trump audiences choose indifference over hate-watching and refuse to participate in a Trump ratings bump.
Shortly after the election results were clear, The New York Times reported that news outlets expected to see at least a short-term spike in audience ratings and newspaper subscriptions in the wake of Trump’s election. However, that hasn’t happened at the more Democrat-friendly outlets at all. A new report at Mediaite reveals that post-election ratings at CNN and MSNBC have plummeted; on Thursday (November 7), Fox News averaged 2.6 million daily viewers (with 375,000 in the 25-54 demographic), while MSNBC had just 596,000 viewers (71,000 in the age bracket) and CNN had 419,000 (and 91,000 in the desired demo). That’s a 60 percent increase year over year for Fox but a 23 percent decrease in the same metric for MSNBC and a 40 percent dip for CNN. The decline reportedly continued on Friday, as MSNBC’s shows had their lowest Friday ratings of the year.
Social media has been alight with anecdotal explanations for why the liberal-leaning news networks are seeing such a stark drop in viewership: Many blame the media for “normalizing” Trump’s candidacy and refuse to reward them with the ratings they suspect the network execs desired in doing so.
CNN staffers 'deeply frustrated' as looming budget cuts, layoffs set to impact struggling network
Fox News Digital spoke with CNN insiders worried about the looming layoffs and budget cuts that are about to rattle the struggling network following the election.
www.foxnews.com
CNN staffers 'deeply frustrated' as looming budget cuts, layoffs set to impact struggling network
CNN staffers are bracing for impact in the new year as significant budget cuts and layoffs are likely to rock the entire network.
"I am overall very sad and deeply frustrated," one longtime CNN staffer told Fox News Digital. "Feelings which are pervasive throughout the organization among those who have been here a long time and feel a deep personal connection to having helped build the organization."
The CNN source indicated that the layoffs would be implemented "by March" and that they'll be "very meaningful" to the rank and file at the network.
"It's a time of a complete and utter business model overhaul and chaos. Extremely difficult even under the best circumstances," the CNN staffer said.
People are giving up cable news because they are sick of the lies and don't want to watch Trump derangement. Journalists are more distrusted than congress and media companies are feeling the consequences.
