Cable News Declines

Via Matt Stoller, some evidence that the total audience for cable news is on the decline:

MSNBC’s ratings momentum continued in April, as the network finished the month as the only cable news net to show a viewership increase over last year (342,000 vs. 333,000, M-Su Total Day). MSNBC also showed the most growth in weekday primetime, up 9% in the key Adults 25-54 demo (253,000 vs. 232,000), while CNN dropped 9% and Fox News Channel plunged 14%.

That's nice for MSNBC, and I do think they're the best cable network and have come to rely on them for primary-night coverage, and the overall lowering tide would seem to be good for America. One of my new lines when print journalism types start fretting about the blogosphere is to remind people that the emerging media landscape can't possibly be worse than 24 hour cable news, which often seems to be going out of its way to be uninformative.

Comments

the emerging media landscape can't possibly be worse than 24 hour cable news, which often seems to be going out of its way to be uninformative.

It amazes me that what you see on those channels is essentially the same thing you see on the broadcast nightly news, just repeated every hour like SportsCenter. Until you get to 5 or 6 o'clock, when the celebrity anchors like Matthews or Blitzer just cover the same stories in the same manner again and again. For any thoughtful in-depth coverage of anything, you have to check PBS. Why does cable news even exist?

Posted by mark f | May 1, 2008 12:57 PM

I think the total audience for cable news is dying not declining.

Posted by ndm | May 1, 2008 1:00 PM

Atrios declared it Yglesias day over at Eschaton!!!

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | May 1, 2008 1:01 PM

MSNBC is marginally better than the others (which isn't saying much). CNN seems to have some rule according to which the only source of information a CNN personality can use is another CNN personality. MSNBC has people who know and care about politics (if not policy), and happened to end up on TV. CNN has people who care about television and happened to end up doing politics.

Posted by pjs | May 1, 2008 1:02 PM

Ever since the Rev. Wright Show started, I switched it off. Couldn't handle that crap, and I've had a much better viewing experience with standard broadcast news, PBS, and learning fun facts on Jeopardy!

Posted by Beth in VA | May 1, 2008 1:04 PM

And "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" draw a 29% increase? All while Murdock is busy giving Tony Snow(job) a nice loyalist spot on CNN, and didn't seem to pay off, oh well.

Apparently Bushism has become the ultra money losing entertainment deficit while the new editor driven WSJ writes that Bush is McCain's biggest problem. Really? What happens when your biggest friend becomes your enemy? Nothing personal, Bushie, it's just business because nobody is buying you anymore, and now that Murdock holds all the FCC cards, what good is Bush for anymore. Just think how hot a televised impeachment would be, imagine the ratings.

Posted by me-again | May 1, 2008 1:05 PM

I think the total audience for cable news is dying not declining.

Especially true in the case of Faux. Their main demographic is senior citizens(No, I am not making that up!!). I think I remember seeing that KO matches O'Falafel in the 25 to 54 age group. It is in the 55 and above where O'Falafel cleans up. Advertisers prefer the 25 to 54 group though.

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | May 1, 2008 1:05 PM

The only reason I turn to CNN for primary night coverage is that the keep the running raw totals on screen, while MSNBC usually puts up only percentages and percentage of precincts reporting. If MSNBC would put the raw numbers up, I would lock them in.

Posted by ephus | May 1, 2008 1:15 PM

I get the impression that CNN is so scared of being called liberal that they have decided to (a) Hire a couple of dingbats of their own (Beck, Snow); and, (b) Become the Banal News Network.

I will say, however, that I like watching John King working that magic screen of his on primary nights, as he does show some things you can't get anywhere else on TV (and sometimes even on the web).

Posted by JRVJ | May 1, 2008 1:23 PM

"can't possibly be worse than 24 hour cable news"

Oh man, do you ever watch local news? Not only is the programming pap or crap but the audiences are fleeing from them almost as fast as newspapers. And did I mention radio? Or Katie on CBS? The programming boss from NBC just got finished saying that TV will ONLY be special events by 2015. Special events being Super Bowls, starlet's photo shoots with their dads and high school shootings.

All the old-line news outlets is going down the crapper.

Posted by Drew Robertson | May 1, 2008 1:23 PM

I am watching cable news less and less myself. It monomanically focuses on just one story at a time. The story is typically trivial, and personality based. (Whats-her-face in Aruba, "Bitter", Wright. Cable igores real news -- the housing crisis, Iraq, etc. I therefore get my real news from the Economist, the Chicago Tribune, NY Times.

Posted by Demosthenes | May 1, 2008 1:25 PM

CNN does have a decent election night coverage team. That's the only reason to watch TV news frankly, with the advent of live blogging of results on the internet, although I can't stand Kathleen Seelye's (of The Caucus) Hillary-boner.

Posted by TH | May 1, 2008 1:38 PM

I begin to wonder if the polis would be more informed if there were no broadcast or cable news at all.

Posted by Eric | May 1, 2008 1:52 PM

"Oh man, do you ever watch local news? Not only is the programming pap or crap but the audiences are fleeing from them almost as fast as newspapers."

I don't know how they can report the supposed "top stories", (all stories about death and killing), and actually maintain any sense of self-respect.

Is a car accident really a major news event? I'm not saying it can't be reported. But should it be the lead or second story of the nightly newscast for the largest TV station in the state?

About a year ago, I saw a news report that too the "if it bleeds, it leads" maxim to new heights. I live in the American Midwest but was born and raised in MA. The news report in question covered a sad story about a man who drowned in a lake, trying to save his nephew. The report mentioned the town the lake was in and I recognized it at once. The town was in upstate MA.

So the local news station thought a drowning death over 1,000 miles away was worthy of coverage. Yeah.

Posted by Raindog | May 1, 2008 2:32 PM

I am of two minds on MSNBC. Due to the nature of my job, I actually get to watch it during the day. While it is tempting to see it as some kind of liberal cable news network oasis in a desert of noise (which is why I tune in), I don't find that enough to overcome my general disgust at a news operation that I think is far more craptacular than CNN. And even then, MSNBC's political coverage is only rescued by three people generally--Olbermann, Chuck Todd and Rachael Maddow. Even then, the producers (I suspect) still force them to contribute to "teh stupid" and discuss Rev. Wright for hours and hours and hours. That, or the latest unexpected animal attack...

I have never felt less informed than those certain periods in my life in which my only news consumption is cable news and no blogs.

I have also truly never been more depressed.

Posted by Michael | May 1, 2008 2:36 PM

"Especially true in the case of Faux. Their main demographic is senior citizens(No, I am not making that up!!). I think I remember seeing that KO matches O'Falafel in the 25 to 54 age group. It is in the 55 and above where O'Falafel cleans up. Advertisers prefer the 25 to 54 group though."

I have seen numerous demographic surveys that estimate that the average age of "Bill-O"'s viewers is between 70 and 71.

Posted by Raindog | May 1, 2008 2:37 PM

I stopped watching the cable and network news a very long time ago. The only TV news I watch is local, yes, but that's only to find out what is happening locally. Really, I mostly pay attention to that for weather and traffic. As far as actual, non-local news, I pretty much get it all from the internet and from NPR, which is refreshingly non-repetitive.

Posted by JDinBalt | May 1, 2008 3:24 PM