
CNN Fails to Stop Fall in Ratings - niravs
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/business/media/30cnn.html?hpw
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roboneal
I recall Bernard Shaw in a blacked out hotel room in Baghdad during the
initial aerial assault of the Persian Gulf War. At the time, it felt new,
immediate, and fresh.

Now we get Anderson Cooper grandstanding in Haiti...now it feels somehow
"staged" - news in the background, anchors in the foreground.

CNN's best days are long behind them.

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chaosmachine
Funny thing about CNN's gulf war coverage..
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m17MPJ2bQ9Y>

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jsz0
The rise of cable news is probably one of the worst things that has ever
happened to this country. It turns news into entertainment and sport. No
mystery why Fox News is popular. The echo chamber of cable news has also
dragged down the quality/substance of the network news programs as well.
That's where the overwhelming majority of people get their TV news. Even
newspapers are not immune. It's terrible that this small but rabid viewership
of cable news is allowed to have such a disproportionate impact on the entire
news industry. I think CNN would be wise to position themselves as a more
serious substantive alternative. I don't see how they beat Fox News at
entertainment/sport. I'm actually surprised MSNBC hasn't pulled ahead of CNN
yet since they indulge in most of the same gimmicks as Fox News. That probably
speaks more to the demographics of these rapid cable news junkies.

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WALoeIII
I wonder how much of these news ratings are a reflection of the changing
preferences of their primary audiences. Though I think CNN attempts to be as
neutral as possible, I have always considered it a somewhat liberal network.
Fox, on the other hand, has always come off as very conservative to me.

As a young (26) libertarian/liberal I don't even own a TV, I get my news from
nytimes.com, BBC and NPR driving around and links from my social circles. I
think if I had a TV I would watch CNN. My father on the other hand has a TV,
and its on Fox.

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xal
I think the cnn audience is ( used to be ) generally younger and more
progressive and therefore has made the jump to online news earlier. This can
probably not account for all of the decline however.

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_delirium
Hmm, in the 90s I always thought of the CNN audience as older and more
conservative, but that was admittedly just an anecdotal impression. I mean,
compare the audience that watches John Stewart to the one that watches Larry
King.

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josh33
Incredible that Fox News is doing so well even when so many companies have
joined a boycott on the channel. The market is definitely sending signals to
CNN.

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daniel02216
That's because Fox News isn't really a news channel anymore, they're more of a
24/7 entertainment/reality TV thing pretending to be a news channel. No wonder
their ratings are so much higher - news is boring compared to entertainment.

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lurkinggrue
It also helps that Fox News is usually put on the analog or basic cable
packages where MSNBC is put in digital and extended tiers.

Less possible cable viewers for that channel.

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gscott
People don't want to think. They prefer to go with like minded individuals and
groupthink which is easier, hence Fox's popularity. There was a time when it
was fashionable to figure it out yourself but that went the way of Martha
Stewart. While I get all of my news from the Naked News (.com) network I
believe what was best about CNN was Lou Dobbs. At least you knew where he
stood and if you liked that you would tune into it. It's just as easy to
filter out the one-sidedness of news as to get something generic and make your
own opinions.

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jackmoore
CNN is the perfect home for nonthinking individuals. They are in full-blown
groupthink constantly reaching out to the bloggers and twitter and the guy on
the street and begging the viewer for their emails/tweets/input. I know I've
personally stopped watching CNN exactly because I desire news, not uninformed
opinion.

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msie
Well I'm glad that it isn't a race to the bottom for ratings by everybody. Of
course the cure for CNN is a couple of reality shows.

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lurkinggrue
Does anybody know a good source for the actual rating numbers?

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pasbesoin
When visiting friends who have CNN on, I don't find it to be news. It's hours
worth of talking heads repetitively speculating and emoting on whatever is the
"topic du jour" -- chosen for salaciousness (or similar, primitive appeal)
rather than salience. The actual news content is pretty close to zero.

