Below is an amazing lede from a Paul Fahri story in yesterday’s The Washington Post about the coming collapse of cable news as a profitable business. The story is built around the CNN-Trump debacle, and puts forward a series of simple, straightforward and mind-boggling statistics that make clear that the end of the cable news era launched by OJ Simpson’s murder spree is at hand:
As I read this essay, I kept thinking about my cable bill. I have stopped watching TV. I don't even watch the local channels. Back in the day, the local news was followed by national news. Today's cable companies often have speculation parading as news, if for no other reason than the 24 hour news cycle has not changed. I don't think the 24 hour news cycle has made us more informed, given how many people voted for tRump thinking he was a successful businessman. Our family is going to have a discussion about how we can get programming we want to watch without that programming that we don't. I have no interest at all in adding to the bottom line of Fox
A sobering analysis, but the fact remains vast segments of Americans just can't be bothered to watch, listen to, and certainly not read the news. For years news on television wasn't profitable, but there was a commitment by broadcasters to subsidize news departments with the profits from popular programing. That's gone, too. We have cast aside the broad perspective provided by a physical newspaper, where you read things you wouldn't otherwise because you saw them when you turned the page. It was valuable, akin to a daily liberal arts education.
Thanks to Steve and to all of you. I share the concern of many of your audience concerning how many of our fellow citizens take the trouble to become informed. In the summer of 1968, I was a student staying with a family in Denmark. I got a lot of thoughtful questions from the Danes about Nixon and Agnew. It struck me that many of these Danes were better informed about American issues than some of our own countrymen. That sinking feeling remains with me today.
I don't believe Chris Licht's mission was to restore trust to CNN. Rather, it was to neuter CNN to the liking of John Malone. CNN journalists learned the lesson of 2016. They've now been fired for it. Sure Zucker made mistakes, but on his worst day he did a lot more right than Licht ever did.
"...this era in which the truth and the lie have come to stand evenly in the public square.' And here we are: Standing on the brink of a massive economic train wreck mainly because the news media can't do its job (or at least the job as envisioned in our Bill of Rights). The Democratic Party looks as bewildered as Yogi Bear popping his head out of the honey pot, assuming the press will have done the work of informing the public about the debt ceiling. Of course not. That's not the way the press rolls nowadays.
"Is the world flat? Many on the Right say it is. We report. You decide".
Arghh! This shouldn't be about sporty political brinkmanship, and it's not the time for both-sides conflation conflict. If the Press had done its job, the radical Right would have had its collective face rubbed in doo-doo where it belongs, and we wouldn't be in this mess. As it stands, the public at large is not just uninformed but misinformed. Both sides, don't ya' know.
If you change the underlying Cable and Satellite law, part of the US Copyright system, you end the automatic fees. Can be done and Congress, if they can ever behave as adults should modify the law.
The “steam engine”! Lmfao. I know you intend no humor Steve but your content and manner of expression boost our morale upon which everything else depends. Bravo!
I am an avid MSNBC watcher but lately my viewing has dwindled. What I’m seeing ad nauseam is:
The Trump Hour, More Trump, Trump Again, Trump Repeated, Trump Retweeted, and Trump Revisited. When Stephanie Ruhle is showing a replay of something Trump said from Nicole Wallace’s 4 o’clock hour, then cancelling my cable seems to be a good idea!
Steve, while “cable” may be in trouble, all of these outlets are available via streaming. NBC has finally integrated its shows into its Peacock platform and you can watch live (or on DVR if you prefer to “tape”) via Hulu and a number of other outlets. They aren’t going anywhere. Though Chris Licht may kill CNN.
I don’t celebrate the demise of cable. These companies employ many people nationwide for one thing. Many cable companies have expanded and are the source of internet connection. It’s not good that people can silo themselves off. It’s why MAGA lies spread and take hold as easily and quickly as they do. The loss of local news via print and broadcast is detrimental to communities and makes it much easier for demagogues to obtain and retain power and for corruption to flourish.
When one of America’s two parties has devolved into know-nothing wannabe authoritarians whose main method of communication is lies, journalism can’t be “just the facts from both sides.” When CNN started, the network offered a variety of programming on a rang of subjects that supplemented the news broadcasts. What is needed is a balance between the talking heads and commentary and in depth reporting like the White Paper reports and the CBS reports news specials. Unfortunately, while America is a serious nation, Americans are not serious people. They choose not to be informed. That is a huge threat to our democracy. And I don’t know how to change that.
I’m afraid that most watch only the version of the “news” that supports what they already believe to be true! Thus, real news has diminished to propaganda!
I love the reminder, that for all our handwringing, approximately 1% of the US population tuned in to the Trump-a-thon.
Back in 2008, Obama’s campaign harnessed the power of the on-line world. Clearly, the very extreme right was paying attention.
Getting “news” from not news sources is part of our problem with Truth. We select the voices we want to hear, lying, fabricating, or not. This is not a positive development.
We may cheer Fox’s tanking ratings, or CNN’s permanently lost audience. Neither organization has been committed to providing actual News for at least 10 years. But, this does not mean that as a nation we can survive by shouting into tunnels. We need generally accepted sources of truthful information, or we are condemned to a future lead by MTG.
This is the best news I have seen in a long time. This coincides with an offer I just received from Spectrum for a much lower rate and the ability to choose what channels I want. Finally another way of defunding Fox (and now CNN).
Fascinating. But the challenge is to stop the oligarchs from applying their power to corrupt the news to the eyeball-catching media platform that replaces cable.
I first switched to a satellite station that was cheaper than my cable internet provider. Two years later, as the contract expired, I came across the remote they had given me. It was still in its original plastic wrap.
As I read this essay, I kept thinking about my cable bill. I have stopped watching TV. I don't even watch the local channels. Back in the day, the local news was followed by national news. Today's cable companies often have speculation parading as news, if for no other reason than the 24 hour news cycle has not changed. I don't think the 24 hour news cycle has made us more informed, given how many people voted for tRump thinking he was a successful businessman. Our family is going to have a discussion about how we can get programming we want to watch without that programming that we don't. I have no interest at all in adding to the bottom line of Fox
A sobering analysis, but the fact remains vast segments of Americans just can't be bothered to watch, listen to, and certainly not read the news. For years news on television wasn't profitable, but there was a commitment by broadcasters to subsidize news departments with the profits from popular programing. That's gone, too. We have cast aside the broad perspective provided by a physical newspaper, where you read things you wouldn't otherwise because you saw them when you turned the page. It was valuable, akin to a daily liberal arts education.
Thanks to Steve and to all of you. I share the concern of many of your audience concerning how many of our fellow citizens take the trouble to become informed. In the summer of 1968, I was a student staying with a family in Denmark. I got a lot of thoughtful questions from the Danes about Nixon and Agnew. It struck me that many of these Danes were better informed about American issues than some of our own countrymen. That sinking feeling remains with me today.
I don't believe Chris Licht's mission was to restore trust to CNN. Rather, it was to neuter CNN to the liking of John Malone. CNN journalists learned the lesson of 2016. They've now been fired for it. Sure Zucker made mistakes, but on his worst day he did a lot more right than Licht ever did.
"...this era in which the truth and the lie have come to stand evenly in the public square.' And here we are: Standing on the brink of a massive economic train wreck mainly because the news media can't do its job (or at least the job as envisioned in our Bill of Rights). The Democratic Party looks as bewildered as Yogi Bear popping his head out of the honey pot, assuming the press will have done the work of informing the public about the debt ceiling. Of course not. That's not the way the press rolls nowadays.
"Is the world flat? Many on the Right say it is. We report. You decide".
Arghh! This shouldn't be about sporty political brinkmanship, and it's not the time for both-sides conflation conflict. If the Press had done its job, the radical Right would have had its collective face rubbed in doo-doo where it belongs, and we wouldn't be in this mess. As it stands, the public at large is not just uninformed but misinformed. Both sides, don't ya' know.
If you change the underlying Cable and Satellite law, part of the US Copyright system, you end the automatic fees. Can be done and Congress, if they can ever behave as adults should modify the law.
The “steam engine”! Lmfao. I know you intend no humor Steve but your content and manner of expression boost our morale upon which everything else depends. Bravo!
I am an avid MSNBC watcher but lately my viewing has dwindled. What I’m seeing ad nauseam is:
The Trump Hour, More Trump, Trump Again, Trump Repeated, Trump Retweeted, and Trump Revisited. When Stephanie Ruhle is showing a replay of something Trump said from Nicole Wallace’s 4 o’clock hour, then cancelling my cable seems to be a good idea!
Steve, while “cable” may be in trouble, all of these outlets are available via streaming. NBC has finally integrated its shows into its Peacock platform and you can watch live (or on DVR if you prefer to “tape”) via Hulu and a number of other outlets. They aren’t going anywhere. Though Chris Licht may kill CNN.
I don’t celebrate the demise of cable. These companies employ many people nationwide for one thing. Many cable companies have expanded and are the source of internet connection. It’s not good that people can silo themselves off. It’s why MAGA lies spread and take hold as easily and quickly as they do. The loss of local news via print and broadcast is detrimental to communities and makes it much easier for demagogues to obtain and retain power and for corruption to flourish.
When one of America’s two parties has devolved into know-nothing wannabe authoritarians whose main method of communication is lies, journalism can’t be “just the facts from both sides.” When CNN started, the network offered a variety of programming on a rang of subjects that supplemented the news broadcasts. What is needed is a balance between the talking heads and commentary and in depth reporting like the White Paper reports and the CBS reports news specials. Unfortunately, while America is a serious nation, Americans are not serious people. They choose not to be informed. That is a huge threat to our democracy. And I don’t know how to change that.
I’m afraid that most watch only the version of the “news” that supports what they already believe to be true! Thus, real news has diminished to propaganda!
How do you know it’s a lie unless you know the truth?
I love the reminder, that for all our handwringing, approximately 1% of the US population tuned in to the Trump-a-thon.
Back in 2008, Obama’s campaign harnessed the power of the on-line world. Clearly, the very extreme right was paying attention.
Getting “news” from not news sources is part of our problem with Truth. We select the voices we want to hear, lying, fabricating, or not. This is not a positive development.
We may cheer Fox’s tanking ratings, or CNN’s permanently lost audience. Neither organization has been committed to providing actual News for at least 10 years. But, this does not mean that as a nation we can survive by shouting into tunnels. We need generally accepted sources of truthful information, or we are condemned to a future lead by MTG.
Please, do not cheer this on.
This is the best news I have seen in a long time. This coincides with an offer I just received from Spectrum for a much lower rate and the ability to choose what channels I want. Finally another way of defunding Fox (and now CNN).
Fascinating. But the challenge is to stop the oligarchs from applying their power to corrupt the news to the eyeball-catching media platform that replaces cable.
From cable to YouTube, which Warren Buffett said is now a Best TV Streaming.
I first switched to a satellite station that was cheaper than my cable internet provider. Two years later, as the contract expired, I came across the remote they had given me. It was still in its original plastic wrap.
Easiest Marie Kondo I ever did.