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Here in America one would think the news media, with their Constitutional protection, would be a major source of information for the electorate. Unfortunately, educating the public takes a back seat to making money, even for the news media.
As you will note from the following articles, the news media can thank Donald Trump for their most profitable era in modern history, the era of Trump running for president. Ever since Trump, the consummate outsider, joined the race, the Nielsen ratings have virtually shot through the roof.
What used to be boring debates have doubled in viewers, town hall meetings have become national town halls, and the more Trump is featured by the cable news networks, the higher the ratings, and the more the profits.
Fox, CNN, and MSNBC have never had it so good thanks to the unconventional, non-politically correct, rambunctious, and free wheeling style of Donald Trump. Then again, America has never had a billionaire run for president.
Born into wealth and driven to success, Trump is a natural for a people sick and tired of empty promises, broken campaign pledges, and stagnating from intellectual constipation. His refusal to be labelled a conservative or liberal, and seeming disgust for the entire political system, gives him a unique and very dominating presence in the political landscape.
Trump says what he thinks how he thinks it. You may not like what you hear but you will always get the truth. The policies, utterances, and bombastic remarks he peppers the audience with during his gatherings of tens of thousands of people is refreshing in elections which are more often than not guided by polls. The only polls Trump believes are those showing him in front.
People believe Trump will fight for them, for their future, and against all odds and conventional wisdom and maybe, just maybe, a Rocky in their corner is far more important than a babbling politician. Trump has also played the media like no other candidate in our history.
Political reporters and pundits have pronounced his campaign dead over and over and here he is, leading the pack and closing in on the Republican nomination. Here are the latest reports on people following the election campaign. I urge you to play particular attention to the total viewers watching the various cable news shows. Remember, there are about 325 million Americans with 247 million of voting age.
Where politics meets the press
2016
election coverage keeps shattering cable news ratings records
For
the first time since it launched in 1996, Fox News was the most-watched channel
in all of cable TV last quarter, topping ESPN, which had NFL and college
football playoff games; AMC, which televises the ratings juggernaut "The
Walking Dead"; and TBS, which aired college basketball games and a number
of high-profile comedy shows.
The
2016 election is proving to be a powerful force for Fox News, CNN and MSNBC,
and all three of them are major beneficiaries of the chaos, drama and
uncertainty that has surrounded the Republican and (to a lesser extent)
Democratic campaigns.
To
be certain, the nonstop onslaught of primary debates and town halls helped
boost the ratings of the channels, but they were not necessarily the root cause
of the ratings surge. In prime time last quarter, CNN had 12 debates and town
halls, MSNBC had six, and Fox News had three, but Fox News still managed to top
all of cable (and, of course, cable news) in total and demo viewers for the
quarter, in both prime time and total day. In other words, the debates and town
halls helped, but people were tuning in even without them.
CNN's
staggering ratings rise, however, is also worth noting, as the channel saw its
best quarterly ratings in total day since 2009 and in prime time since the 2008
election. Compared to the first quarter of 2015, CNN was up 165 percent in
prime-time total viewers and 143 percent in the core news demographic of adults
ages 25 to 54. Fox News was up 38 percent and 60 percent in those metrics,
respectively, compared to last year, while MSNBC, with its still in-progress
transition to emphasize breaking news, was up 66 percent and 71 percent.
The
numbers for the first quarter of 2016, per Nielsen:
Prime
time: Fox News, 2.37
million total viewers, 483,000 adults 25-54. CNN, 1.42 million total viewers,
455,000 adults 25-54. MSNBC, 888,000 total viewers, 226,000 adults 25-54.
Total
day: Fox News, 1.35
million total viewers, 271,000 adults 25-54. CNN, 732,000 total viewers,
217,000 adults 25-54. MSNBC, 502,000 total viewers, 131,000 adults 25-54.
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Fox and CNN Boast Historic Quarter; Fox
Leads Basic Cable in Primetime and Total Day Viewership
The first quarter of 2016 proved to be a historic ratings bonanza for both
CNN and Fox News. For the first time in its history, Fox News beat out
every other basic cable network for the highest primetime and total day
viewership for the quarter. Meanwhile, CNN had its most-watched quarter in
total day in seven years and best
primetime since 2008.
For the first quarter of the year Fox netted 1,351,000 in total
viewers and 271,000 in the demographic of adults aged 25-54 — a record-breaking
quarter for total day. In primetime, it was Fox’s highest rated quarter since
2012, averaging 2,373,000 in total and 483,000 in demo. The historic quarter
comes after 14 years as the most-watched cable news channel.
CNN narrowed the gap with Fox News to the closest it’s been in seven
years. The news network took in 732,000 total viewers and 217,000 in
demo for today day; in primetime, it averaged 1,419,000 total viewers
and 455,000 in demo. No doubt the non-stop (ratings rich) political
theater has helped CNN accomplish this. CNN had 12 debates and town halls,
while MSNBC had 6 and Fox had just 3.
During the quarter, Fox snagged the top 14 cable news programs in total
viewers and nine of the top 10 programs in the coveted 25-54 demographic. The O’Reilly Factor remains the top
program in cable news, earning its highest-rated quarter since 2012 in both
total (3,416,000) and demo (598,000). The
Kelly File had its most-watched quarter in total viewers since its
2013 launch (2,516,000); it also took in 492,000 in demo. CNN notched two of
the top 20 cable news programs, with Anderson
Cooper 360 at #16 with 1,063,000 in total and 321,000 in
demo; Erin Burnett Outfront at
#20 with 843,000 in total and 253,000 in demo.
The midday America’s Newsroom,
co-anchored by Bill Hemmer
and Martha MacCallum
earned its highest-rated quarter ever in total viewers with 1,621,000, while in
March the mid-afternoon news show Shepard
Smith Reporting
had its highest-rated month in both total viewers (1,502,000) and the demo
(248,000) since it was launched in Oct. 2013.
Entertainment
Fox News
Shows, Ranked: Who Is Highest-Rated Between Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity and Bill
O’Reilly (Photos)
Brian Flood,The
Wrap
The Top 13 most-watched programs on cable
news during the first quarter of 2016 are all on Fox News Channel. Megyn
Kelly is one of the network’s biggest stars, but where does she rank among her
colleagues when it comes to popularity?
13) The 11 p.m. ET repeat of “The O’Reilly
Factor” is watched by more people than any show on CNN or MSNBC.
12) “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson”
averages 1.34 million viewers.
11) “Happening Now” with Jon Scott and Jenna
Lee almost cracks the Top 10 programs on cable news.
10) “Shepard Smith Reporting”
averages 1.43 million total viewers.
9) “Outnumbered” is an extremely popular
show, especially considering the 12 noon ET start time.
8) “Your World” with Neil Cavuto draws 1.58
million viewers despite Donald Trump’s refusal to appear.
7) “America’s Newsroom” with Martha
MacCallum and Bill Hemmer averages 1.62 million viewers.
6) “Hannity” has hosted numerous interviews
with presidential candidates this election cycle.
5) “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren”
cracks the Top 5 most-watched cable news programs.
4) “The Five” is regularly among the most
popular shows in all of cable.
3) “Special Report with Bret Baier” is seen
by more people than all but two cable news programs.
2) “The Kelly File” is the second-most
watched show on Fox News as Megyn Kelly gears up for a broadcast special on
FOX.
1.) “The O’Reilly Factor” continues to
dominate cable news, averaging 3.41 million total viewers compared to 2.51 for
“The Kelly File.”
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