It appears that Americans are tired of left-wing political culture. Liberal news programming has long had a problem in attracting viewers, listeners, and readers. While the east coast left-wing media echo chambers produces a lot of biased political narratives, its influence with fly-over America has been limited.
The most obvious example is the comparative ratings between CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News. The hopelessly woke CNN and MSNBC have not been able to compete with FOX. In most head-to-head comparisons, FOX draws more audience than CNN and MSNBC combined.
The failure of the left to gain superiority over more conservative news outlets – and even less politically biased programs – is not new. We should recall how the left launched “Air America” as a hardcore left-wing network – featuring the most radical voices on the left. While most of Air America’s personalities drifted off to reportorial oblivion, one did get a major gig at MSNBC. That was Rachel Maddow.
The left launched a national program to compete with Rush Limbaugh featuring former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and former Texas Governor Anne Richards – after voters ousted them from office. The show did not last long – leaving the most significant memory of the Cuomo/Richard team a Doritos commercial. You read that right … a snack food promo.
The left even tried to bring back the once popular liberal icon Phil Donahue. But it was too late. The left was already losing ground. The show had a very short run.
More recently, the floundering CNN network spend millions – and stole Chris Wallace away from FOX – to launch a streaming service to compete with FOX’s “FOX Nation” and MSNBC’s “Peacock” network. The launch was so catastrophic for CNN that they had to cancel the entire project before it got started. Why a network that was bleeding viewers would think a subsidiary would have viewer appeal is a mystery to me – but then I am not as smart as the top brass at CNN.
There seems to be a correlation between Biden’s unprecedented fall from political grace and the collapse of what was once the premier cable news service.
For many years, CNN seems to have been competing with MSNBC for the left-wing audience – and it has not gone well. In a previous commentary, I suggested that CNN should take on FOX – or at least take up the middle ground between Fox and MSNBC.
That would take a very extreme and obvious shake-up. It would have to be bold enough for the viewing public to see a major change in personnel AND PHILOSOPHY. The first to go would be the morning news team of John Berman and Briana Keilar. And before they could even pack up their offices, CNN should announce the departure of media critic Brian Stelter and weekend host Jim Acosta.
But it is important to remember that these talking heads are as much actors as they are journalists. CNN management would have to take the axe to those who pick the guests and write the scripts – the producers and off-camera staff.
Finally, CNN would have to recruit panelists, pundits, and contributors for both sides of the political spectrum. Political debate sells better than obvious propaganda – as FOX has proven.
If the new owners and top leaders at CNN had the courage to really restructure the network, they just might pull out of their death spiral. Unfortunately for Biden – and his crashing ratings– it may be too late. His presidency and political leadership are more likely to crash and burn.
The decline in the popularity of Biden and CNN has the same root causes – the increasing unpopularity of radical left-wing propaganda and indoctrination. And it could not happen at a more critical time in America’s history.
So, there ‘tis.