In the week following Donald Trump’s latest electoral triumph, viewers have spoken and they’re voting with their remotes. As Trump revels in his victory, it looks like cable news’ biggest left-leaning networks – CNN and MSNBC – are suffering what can only be described as a mass viewer defection. In fact, the Nielsen ratings for top liberal shows are tanking faster than the Chicago Bears’ playoff chances.
The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell – Down 60.6%
The racist Joy Reid’s ReidOut – Dropped a whopping 54.6%
Morning Joe – Down almost 40%
All-in with Chris Hayes – Down 47.2%
Conservative YouTuber Benny Johnson said, “Trump isn’t even in office yet is already defeating the fake news.”
No amount of post-election analysis, finger-pointing, or “soul-searching” (if you can call it that) seems to be stopping the bleeding. Maybe the leftist fake news media would be better off showing cat videos or memes of cute babies eating pizza all day long.
Media meltdowns and blame games aren’t ratings gold.
It hasn’t been just the numbers that have plummeted after Orange Man Bad won in a landslide election. Leftist network hosts are visibly shaken, some spinning out into what critics have labeled “meltdowns.” Many are angry, others have been crying their eyes out. Some have gone back to their tried and true complaints about Trump supporters (and American voters in general) being racist and sexist.
Not surprisingly, MSNBC’s Joy Reid blamed white women for Trump’s sweeping victory in North Carolina. Will this be the continual narrative for the next four years? The perpetual racism recitation? If so, the leftists are likely to keep losing even more viewers. It’s clear that left-leaning networks are fighting an uphill battle to keep even their most loyal viewers engaged with their hatred and misinformation – but then again, they WERE able to keep their viewers watching during the last go- around with their 24/7 Trump-resistance.
So what exactly is the appeal of watching analysts fume over their election loss? The answer, if you look at their current ratings, is “not much.” Instead, CNN and MSNBC viewers seems to be turning to other sources for their information – or might just be taking a news break. Maybe, just maybe, they’re figured out that these networks are “fake news” just like Trump always says. After all, Democrats trusted these networks and all they got in return was biased misinformation that told them that Kamala had a chance of being president – and in fact, was likely to win. THAT was pure fiction.
Cuts look to be coming but will that stop the slide?
As the viewers leave, so will the paychecks of the “celebrities” on the fake news networks. But that leads me to wonder…Where are all of the zillions of dollars that these networks made in ad revenue
during the presidential campaign? Seriously. Inquiring minds want to know. Because even though we all know they are awash in ad revenue, they apparently don’t want to share that wealth with their anchors.
Word on the street is that CNN is bracing for some tough budget cuts, with CNN’s CEO eyeing salary slashes for prime-time stars like Anderson Cooper, the $20-million man. And as for Chris Wallace? Reports say he’s out, but it’s unclear if he left by choice – probably not, given past reports of a seven- figure paycheck. Maybe CNN is finally realizing that if you don’t keep up with the public pulse, you risk getting left in the dust. CNN and their MSNBC counterparts might need either fresh faces or a fresh message to stay relevant – and financially secure.
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