Big 3 Nets' Evening News Election and Pre-Election Week Audiences Down Nearly 20% From 2006
Along with the cheerful news that Fox News trounced its cable news competitors on Election Night (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), those longing for more fairness and balance in television news coverage can take some comfort in the fact that the Big Three Networks' evening news shows came in with audiences almost 20% lower during the week before and the week of the 2010 midterm elections compared to the same two weeks in 2006.
As seen below, NBC took the smallest hit of the three networks, losing an average of "only" 1.2 million viewers in the two comparative weeks involved. ABC got hit harder, while CBS lost nearly 3 in 10 viewers (Sources: MediaBistro -- Nov. 1, 2010; Oct. 25, 2010; Nov. 6, 2006; Oct. 30, 2006):
Combine the above with the news of Fox's 2006-2010 improvement, CNN's serious decline, and MSNBC a stable but still-distant third, and it's clear that viewers continue to move towards fair and balanced coverage.
Faster, please.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
- Tom Blumer's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Viewers saved or created?
Submitted by metaphorsbwithu on Fri, 11/12/2010 - 11:34pm.
Yeah, but if it weren't for Obama, the networks would have lost even more viewers. ;-)
Who the hell cares?
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 12:03am.
It's not a popularity contest. The country's at stake here.
We ain't winning the battle of the press anytime soon. Let's concetrate on what matters.
Okay News Busters. You heard
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 12:10am.
Okay News Busters. You heard the man. Close up shop. We can't win. There's no point in going on....
Uh, well, you should care
Submitted by Tom Blumer on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 12:50am.
The numbers indicate that the evening news shows had a megaphone whose volume was down almost 20% from 2006.
You remember Mark Foley, right? With parallel declines in newspaper readership, if these conditions had existed in 2006, the non-scandal might not have had the impact it did.
This year, note how even orchestrated attempts to take down Rand Paul failed, despite media hype.
It is important to note that the establishment press's audience is declining, if for no other reason that to convince principled conservative freshmen entering the Beltway for the first time that they have far less reason to be afraid of the establishment press than, say, the class of 1994, when the nets' audiences were far larger, the circulations at the big three newspapers (NYT, WaPo, and LAT) were far greater, and the new media alternatives were far more limited.
I have maintained that unless
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 1:10am.
I have maintained that unless and until the "playing field" that is the media is at least somewhat leveled to where conservative ideas are given a fair shake, there will be no way that our country's social, political, and economic problems will ever be solved except in small weakened bursts. Let's face it, even with the GOP gains of last week, the window of opportunity is opened but a little and even now the media is leaning down hard on the frame trying to shut it.
Thanks for stating my point
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 1:47am.
You did a better job than I did, but you didn't have to give me sh%t for it.
Um, no, it's not a zero sum gain
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 1:54am.
Popular culture is still more focused on the liberal agenda. That fewer people, especially those of a younger age, are watching news shows as a lower rate is not surprising. That the establishment press' veiwership is declining is equally unsurprising. That void is being filled with shows with a decidedly liberal bias.
Unless you can show that your numbers show declining influence from the left overall, then my question still stands. So what?
Faster! Everyone over to
Submitted by Van Halen on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 12:58am.
Faster! Everyone over to FoxNews! Let's do our part to flush the journOList turd down the drain!
They're going to have to
Submitted by Thoreau on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 1:09am.
They're going to have to start broadcasting in spanish and russian to find their audience again.
Military Denied Ballots - Where were MSM Stories?
Submitted by Retired Geek on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 3:23am.
Liberal Progressives all over the United States did everything they could to NOT let our 'Active Military' in harms way to Vote in the 2010 Elections.
The most egregious case was in Chicago Illinois - Over 35 counties in Illinois missed the deadline to mail military ballots to our soldiers defending America. But in Chicago, county election officials have taken special steps to ensure that no inmates at the Cook County Jail are unable to cast a ballot.
The Chicago Board of Elections hand delivered ballots to the jail. They don’t even wait for the inmates to apply – they bring the applications with the ballots! Over 2,600 inmates have cast ballots so far – strikingly similar to the 2,600 soldiers who will likely not receive a ballot for the Nov 2 election.
We must remember that Barack Obama was instrumental in teaching voter fraud to ACORN.
Now Barack Obama is the Chief Executive of ALL of the Government Agencies who investigate and prosecute Voter Fraud.
Barack Obama and Eric Holder will make sure that NO one is prosecuted for this travesty of Justice.
Obama Did Not Teach Egg Sucking.
Submitted by Avitar on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 5:44am.
My Father's Father waw on a committee that tried to make sense out of the results of the 1960 Presidentual race. Short story, fifty kind of voter fraud and Michelle Obama's grandfather was a full time empoyee over a year before Barack was born. We face an army of power mad dingbats.
There is no Ming the merciless behind it all. George Soros comes as close as anybody.
Poverty Increasing Dramatically in America - MSM is Silent?
Submitted by Retired Geek on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 3:26am.
Under the Barack Obama Administration and the Liberal Progressive Congress (since 2007) over 16 million jobs have been lost.
41.8 million Americans are on Food Stamps (1 in 8 Americans), it takes 7 working Americans just to pay for 'Food Stamps' for one.
This is the highest rate for Americans on 'Food Stamps' in American History.
NOTE: When Barack Obama took office 32 million Americans were on 'Food Stamps' - this is a 30.6% increase to 41.8 million.
The October 2010 Unemployment rate is 10.1% in the United States, despite the Barack Obama 'Stimulus' that 'Promised to lower unemployment and create jobs.
NOTE: When Barack Obama took office the unemployment rate was 7.70% - this is a 31% increase to 10.1%.
The number of people in poverty reached its highest level in 51 years under the Barack Obama Administration, the government defined poverty for a family of four in 2009 as an income of $21,954 or less.
13.2% of Americans had incomes below the poverty level in 2008, this jumped to 14.3% in 2009 - an 8.3% increase.
SOURCES: Bureau Labor Statistics, 2010 Census, Labor Department, New York Times, USA Today.
--------------------------
CBS Poll - "66% Of Americans view Barack Obama as an average or poor president, while another 31% say his backing of a candidate running for office will actually be a detriment."
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2010/10/07/cbs-news-poll-claim...
--------------------------
This is the Marxist 'Hope and Change' Barack Obama Promised.
This is the 'Fundamental Transformation' Barack Obama "Promised" for the United States.
Barack Obama where are the Jobs?
http://thpatriots.blogspot.com/2010/10/elko-mike-democrats-and-jobs.html
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
MSM has so Much Invested in Barack Obama
Submitted by Retired Geek on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 3:41am.
Why are the MSM Networks losing Viewers?
Look at the 2010 Elections - the American Citizenry knows SOMETHING is wrong with the Barack Obama Administration, but the MSM has so much invested in Barack Obama - the MSM cannot afford to expose anything.
Look at this link: http://thpatriots.blogspot.com/2010/11/retired-geek-demplosion-liberatio...
Where are the Stories on the Networks about why this happened?
No wonder the Networks are losing viewers!
All the Networks are doing is story after story about how the Average American Citizen is a 'Knuckle Dragging' Racist who is so Stupid, that they cannot understand the Wonderful Policies that the Barack Obama Administration is giving them.
Barack Obama thinks that he just hasn;t 'Dumbed Down' his policies enough so that we can understand them.
Here is some advice for Obama-Pelosi-Reid - 'If Your Policies Worked, you wouldn't have to Explain them'!
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
Where are the Nov. 2 stats?
Submitted by Red Jeep on Sat, 11/13/2010 - 8:43am.
Wasn't the election on Nov. 2, not 1?
Anyway I wanted to check out ABC's coverage on the night of NOV. 2 becuase of something I read that they would have quick results, etc. Couldn't find any election coverage on ABC, unless they had it on after 11:00.