The New York Times ran a story on their website today showing that Fox News has shed viewers while both CNN and MSNBC has gained.
In the first five-and-a-half months of 2004, the last presidential election year, Fox’s prime-time audience among viewers aged 25 to 54 was more than double that of CNN’s — 530,000 to 248,000, according to estimates from Nielsen Media Research. This year, through mid-June, CNN erased the gap and drew nearly as many viewers in that demographic category as Fox — about 420,000 for CNN to 440,000 for Fox.
Of course, my headline is facetious. I don’t expect to see Fox News’ demise any time soon. But I have to wonder why the “liberal news stations” are gaining and the “fair and balanced” one is slipping. Might it be that people are seeing through the B.S. that Fox sells? Or is it just that Democrats finally feel energized enough to watch their own network? Or … is it as Republican Strategist Scott Reed said … that MSNBC and CNN have simply stepped up their game?
I should point out that WECK uses Fox News for it’s top of the hour news casts, as well as breaking news …