The FAUX News Free Fall

[Nbadan]

I guess you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time...

Fox News in Ratings Free Fall


Here's something you won't hear on Fox News -- ratings for the cable news channel have been plummeting since before the November election.

According to TV Newser, the number of people watching Fox during prime time in the 25 to 54 age bracket dropped in April for the sixth straight month.

TV Newser cited a CNN press release which gave these totals for Fox's primetime audience in the 25 to 54 age bracket: Oct. 04: 1,074,000; Nov. 04: 891,000; Dec. 04: 568,000; Jan. 05: 564,000; Feb. 05: 520,000; March 05: 498,000; April 05: 445,000. That amounts to a decline of 58 percent, with no sign of leveling off.

Other cable stations' ratings were also down since the election, but CNN's, for example, appeared to have stabilized last month while Fox's continued to drop.

What the press release didn't say is that we can add 629,000 people to those who don't watch Fox. That works out to just over 89,857 people for each of the seven News Hounds who are watching Fox so those people don't have to.

Now that we've added another Hound, we should be able to take care of the remaining 445,000 in even less than six months.

Fox's plunging ratings should be a warning to those cable stations trying to copy the news channel's conservative Republican slant. People are tired of it. Try something different, like a progressive television show, for a change.

Newshounds (http://www.newshounds.us/2005/05/18/fox_news_in_ratings_free_fall.php#more)

Of course, as I documented last week, the bleeding for Faux News is led by Bill O"Reilly and the Hannity and Colmes show which have been losing audience members at an incredible rate lately, but the news doesn't get better for cable news competitors CNN and MSNBC. FAUX News may be in decline, but except for some progressive news shows like Keith Obermann, this hasn't translated in bigger rating for any of the cable news networks.

My feelings is that this is largely due to blogs and the blogosphere like this forum.

[mookie2001]

ha
but they have hot reporters and lots of colors

[scott]

Can you provide some numbers on the other news stations?

[Guru of Nothing]

Can you provide some numbers on the other news stations?

God damn you Scott - Your reply fcompelled me to read dan's post.

You suck.

[scott]

Gotcha!

[Spurminator]

The reason for the 6 month decline in cable news ratings is simple.

Ratings peak during elections.

I think attempting to read anything else into it is premature.

[Buenos Hairys]

IN ARGENTINA WE NO WATCH WE COUP

[Clandestino]

lol... nba, you're such an idiot!

[Useruser666]

Who is watching Fox News?
What channel is it on?
Who here complains the most about it?

[Clandestino]

Who is watching Fox News?
What channel is it on?
Who here complains the most about it?

most of the u.s.
60 on time warner
nbathereareblackheloscirclingdan...

final answers!

[MasterYoda]

weary of the news, i am.

watch it less and less, i do.

liberal slant to take a shot at fox news, this is.

dropped for all news channels, the ratings have.

[Extra Stout]

This thread is dumb. I guess if traffic at SpursTalk starts declining in July, that means the site is in trouble.

[SWC Bonfire]

NbaDan, do you ever post about the SPURS/NBA?

-And I am a staunch conservative, and I think Fox news is an insult to my intelligence, but the bad thing is that the other networks have gotten down on their level. "News" is now a bastardized Austrailian tabloid version of its former self. The ratings are down because they all stink.

[Nbadan]

NbaDan, do you ever post about the SPURS/NBA?

Yes, but mostly at The Spurs Dominion. (http://pub97.ezboard.com/fspursdominionfrm1). Not that I have anything against The SpursTalk forum, just were I feel my skills contribute more.

[Nbadan]

This thread is dumb. I guess if traffic at SpursTalk starts declining in July, that means the site is in trouble.

Perhaps your argument will mean more once the FAUX News ratings drop isn't just for the 04 Presidential election period. Fact is, more and more people are tuneing off network and cable news and turning into the web for information and resources. This forum is a good example. Over the months since I started this forum I have seen traffic here increase nicely dispite the sometimes obvious efforts by some (others) to try and sabotage the credibility of this forum.

[Spurminator]

Your hypothesis assumes that people either get news from the Internet OR from Television. Not everyone consumes an equal amount of news.

I would argue that people who read the news on the Internet are also the ones who are more likely to watch Cable news networks. And peak ratings periods for News stations are also peak traffic times for online news sources.

Perhaps if you could show some proof that online news sites' traffic has increased inversely with the decline in News ratings since the election, you might have an argument. But it would have to be from actual news/political sites, not branch forums of a Sports site that, naturally, would see higher traffic as the NBA season gets closer to (and reaches) the Playoffs.

[Useruser666]

Fox doesn't have to worry about ratings as long as it's biggest criticizers are also it's largest viewership segment.

[Extra Stout]

What's the trend on hits for the big news and political blogs since November. The assertion is incomplete without that data.

If there is a dropoff in blog traffic since November, then what we're seeing is a subsidence from the election frenzy.

If the blogs are seeing steady or increasing traffic while cable TV news declines, then Dan's point could be valid.

[Nbadan]

If there is a dropoff in blog traffic since November, then what we're seeing is a subsidence from the election frenzy.

If the blogs are seeing steady or increasing traffic while cable TV news declines, then Dan's point could be valid.

This would be tough to do because much like porn, very few people actually admit that they watch FAUX News or listen to right-wing talk radio religiously even though statistics show that quite a few people do and the misconceptions are more than abundant in this forum. I like to listen to politics on the road, but I find myself listening to Progressive radio as more and more big cities get these stations. Locally, I think 92.5 FM does a respective job in the day, Stephanie Miller is particularly funny, but their night-time programming needs some retooling. I would move Phil Hendrie to midnight, Lionel to the 3-7 slot, and uggg...Alan Colmes to the 7-10 slot (although I would replace him with Thom Hartman in a heartbeat if I could).

The blogsphere threat is real to cable/corporate news. This is why more cable news channels are making surfing blogs a (boring) part of their programming.

[Useruser666]

Doesn't Fox News have a website? Maybe that's where they're going? :lol

I don't watch any tv dealing with politics.

[ididnotnothat]

Fox is the expert in twisting facts. You could say you were the top rated network starting with F and the people who watch Fox would be amazed.

Besides there's a lot of doubt as to the accuracy of those figures and the claim that Fox is the number one cable news network.
Anybody who really wants the news doesn't watch Fox to get it IMO.

[scott]

Does that mean the answer to my question is no?

[MannyIsGod]

I think the blogosphere factor is minor threat to the cable news networks but it does have the ability to morph into a larger one.

The fact is, that the majority of the people in this country are oblivious to blogs at the moment. Even with all the press they have gotten, and the major contributions they made to the events of last years election, they are still a very minor player when it comes to reaching a large segment of the population.

This country suffers from a largely ignorant population. People that follow news on the internet, networks, or even newspapers are much smaller in number than those that simply get news through word of mouth or their local tv stations.

That being said, I think having a large number of individuals doing real journalism (the blogosphere) is an awesome thing, and at least provides those of us who actualy care with a reliable outlet for news the networks ignore or report errantly.

[Useruser666]

The more info, the better.

[mookie2001]

infowars^^

[Guru of Nothing]

Does that mean the answer to my question is no?

Bump.

[AlamoSpursFan]

The more info, the better.

I guess that would make you an infomaniac?

:blah