To say that CNN has some problems connecting with its audience would be a massive understatement. Before entering into the world of conjecture and opinion, a personal expression of my dissatisfaction with CNN, let’s take a look at some hard data to understand the core of their problem.
A simple Google search turned this up at the top of the page:
“Among total viewers, Fox News dominated prime time with 2.262 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (1.165 million viewers) and CNN (587,000 viewers). All of the networks saw year-over-year declines, with CNN down the most at 24%.”
OK, so they are clearly in last place.
Forbes had this to say, further elaborating on the statistics:
“February marked CNN’s lowest-rated month in a decade, with the network’s prime time lineup dropping 42% among viewers 25-54—the key demographic group valued by advertisers—compared to the same month one year ago. CNN drew an average prime time audience of 122,000 viewers in the key demo, compared to Fox News Channel’s 299,000 viewers (down 33%). MSNBC was third overall with 119,000 viewers (down 15%).
Among total viewers, Fox News dominated prime time with 2.262 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (1.165 million viewers) and CNN (587,000 viewers). All of the networks saw year-over-year declines, with CNN down the most at 24%. Fox News was down 14% and MSNBC declined the least, down 2%.
Fox News had 94 of the 100 most-watched telecasts in February, which marked two consecutive years as the highest-rated network in cable news, among both total viewers and viewers in the key demo.”
So much for prime time, but what about morning shows? Regarding morning shows, “Good Morning America” is, and always has been, number one, followed by CBS ‘s “Mornings,” my personal favorite, and in last place CNN’s “This Morning.”
Forbes continues…
“CNN’s struggling morning show, CNN This Morning, averaged 360,000 total viewers and just 73,000 viewers in the key demo in February, the show’s lowest-rated month since its launch last fall. Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends cruised to a first-place finish for the month with 1.2 million total viewers and 170,000 viewers in the key demo.
The show debuted in November to ratings lower than the show it replaced, New Day, and has failed to make much traction since then, with critics noting that instead of chemistry, the hosts—Kaitlan Collins, Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow—often talk over each other. The show also suffered from Lemon making sexist comments in a discussion of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s age, saying Haley “isn’t in her prime” at 51 because women are “considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
Lemon apologized off-air, but his remarks led CNN chief executive Chris Licht to tell staff “I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation,” Licht said in an internal memo. “He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn. We take this situation very seriously.” Mark Joyella writing for Forbes.
OK, so there you have it. They have a problem on all fronts, but they seem to be unable to locate it. Perhaps they are looking in the wrong places, those where corporate managers look rather than those of viewers. An old friend of mine had a favorite saying, “They couldn’t pour piss from a boot if the instructions were on the heel.” It may well apply here.
I may not be the typical viewer, but a viewer none-the-less. So, here’s how I see it.
Their biggest problem is their advertising. There is just too much of it. To prove my point try playing “Russian Roulette” with your remote. Turn your TV off and let it sit for a while, then turn it on tuned to CNN. Chances are that you will be watching ads not programming. I find that when I routinely tune in to CNN, I will more often than not land on ads than content. There are just way too many ads. Unfortunately, at this point I know all the ads by heart. I have two strategies to deal with this problem. The first is to turn the audio off until the program resumes. This strategy requires infinite patience, a quality lacking in our ADD world. The other is to leave the room for half an hour or so, make breakfast or complete other tasks while recording the show for playback through my DirecTv DVR. On my return I fast forward through the ads.
I find that fast forward is the most useful tool for watching CNN. It’s not just for ads, which are annoyingly repetitive but also for the never-ending repetition of content. Each and every story is repeated over and over again ad nauseum, all day long in every show, usually with varying panels of pundits providing pretty much the same commentary, thus negating any need to watch CNN for the remainder of the day.
Furthermore, in an effort to appear “fair and balanced” they surround their round table with a pundit panel consisting of an equal number of Democrat and Republican spokespersons. Invariably, the Democrats illuminate issues and discuss policy while the Republicans retreat to party loyalty and meaningless deference. There are certain faces that require changing the channel, chief among them is Alice Stewart. She is harsh and shrill and a hardened hypocrite who can be relied on to tow the GOP party line at any cost. She is followed by an old bulldog, David Urban, a noted Republican lobbyist who is currently trying to adopt a softer approach with less bite, though too late for any real credibility. Seeing either of these people will mean “turning the page” on CNN.
It’s not that I’m against conservatives. I enjoy watching Margaret Hoover and S.E. Cupp, among them, but the two Republican mouthpieces named above are just predictably empty vessels.
Trying to find a place in the middle as the tides of opinion are changing against Republicans, is baby-faced Scott Jennings, Mitch McConnell’s lapdog. Having adopted the naive persona of Opee in Mayberry RFD, for years, Scott has been too timid to face the truth of Republican hypocrisy, joined to McConnell at the hip as he is. McConnell has moments of lucidity and on rare occasion speaks the hard truth, only to flip flop politically in deference to Trump and his lies. Jennings has great difficulty managing his allegiance to McConnell and party while disassociating himself from Trump. His long history of participation in propagating GOP falsehoods in a “fair and balanced” debate is transparent and an encumbrance too hard to shed by those with memories longer than the past 24 hours.
Speaking of which, cudos to Ana Navarro. She used to be intolerable to watch. Loud and aggressive, she blindly trumpeted GOP talking points, until something happened, Donald Trump. Early on she extricated herself from the binds of party and took an informed and objective approach to conservatism, void of Trumpian influence. Too bad Scott Jennings didn’t come to this same conclusion earlier. It’s just too late for him. He seems to understand which way the wind blows and is tacking a new course, but he can never have meaningful credibility and is therefore a waste of my time, repeating what he thinks I want to hear. Too late, Scott.
And in fairness, I’m not neutral where Democrats are concerned. I can’t stand watching Maria Cardona no matter what her positions are. Some people just have a grating personality, and she is one of them. Give me the calm of a Maggie Haberman or a Jackie Kucinich over the aggressive trumpeting of a Maria Cardona any day. It seems it’s just too east for someone like David Urban to press her buttons and then it’s off to the races. Ugh!
But as every television executive knows, it’s really all about the numbers. Steering news programming has to be about understanding the demographics.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism, defines CNN’s demographic as a college-educated woman between the ages of 25 and 54, who tends to lean to the political left—but prefers the news to be neutral, and who cares mostly about national news as opposed to international and local news while a Pew Research Center survey concluded that the median age for a prime-time FOX News viewer was 68, of which 69% are aged 50 or older. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, 94% of Fox viewers “either identify as or lean Republican”.
One way to interpret just how misguided the management at CNN are concerning their demographics is to take a look at their sponsors. Taken in total, the overwhelming majority are ads for big Pharma prescription products… Bikytarvy, Trulicity, Otezla, Jardiance, Prevagen, Dupixant, Vraylar, Rinvoq, Eliquis, Prolia, Farxiga, Kerendia, Ubrelvy, Quviviq, Evenity etc. etc., followed by a variety of never ending pleas for Medicare type C providers, $10 death benefit insurance plans, etc. and lost among these are occasional, and most pitiful, Subway ads narrated by insincere sports figures who are about as talented as Donald Trump at reading a teleprompter, and as an insult to anyone’s intelligence, are relied upon solely by name association to sell subs with catchy names. Do any of these appear to be sponsors that appeal to CNN’s demographic audience, women age 25 to 54? How stupid can management be?
Well, there’s further evidence of their stupidity. After firing Chris Cuomo, the sole remaining anchor known for his outspoken opinion was Don Lemon. Rather than keep him where he was effective in late night, he was moved to a morning show where he was expected to make light banter with his two co-hosts, both anchors with serious resumes reporting politically breaking news. This unlikely trio was expected to compete in the morning market with “Good Morning America” and “CBS Mornings,” two shows with established congenial hosts, telling national, international and local stories.
As to content, CNN anchors face an impossible task getting direct answers to politically charged questions. Even the best anchor’s questions go unanswered. Any specific question is used by the person being interviewed to enter the rabbit-hole of their warped ideology and misinformed position, becoming a platform for them to expound on a somewhat related perspective rather than address the question. Who wants to watch that? Not me. Not you.
Lastly, at the risk of sounding petty and perhaps even sexist, I have to delve into the appearance that is presented by their anchors and pundits. CNN must first understand that each show relies on a visual identity. To that end they have redesigned their sets, actually quite often and very recently, but they neglect to provide makeovers for their hosts, anchors and pundits, to bring them into the modern age. I don’t care to watch someone who appears to be out of touch. That’s a turn off, quite literally, a signal to change the channel. Call me shallow but I look for signs of identity.
Many female personalities take too much effort in the management of their hairstyles, so much so, that it’s hard to focus on their face over that of their hair. It’s like I can’t see the forest for the trees. There seems to be an over-preponderance of exceedingly long hairstyles, as if that fulfills the notion of femininity, in a Lady Guinevere sort of way. Long, flowing hair is distracting and in many ways is an effort to display a certain affinity for a youthful display when in actuality, it reflects an adhesion to styles from the past, philosophically more suited to a MAGA mindset than an informed one. Many of those long-hair styles look like those of French dandies, aristocratic men, seen in 18th century paintings. It’s not a good look for an informed personality. By the end of that century, those guys mostly ended up at the guillotine. Now that’s a turn off!
African-American women face a different problem for their textured hair. I’m not here to make a recommendation regarding styles that work, but simply to say that too much focus on elaborate styles detracts from your beauty and personality as it pertains to reporting the news or rendering an opinion. An air of calm and objectivity can be conveyed more easily with simple styles than extravagant ones. It should not be about the beauty parlor but the newsroom. Fostering a calm appearance is critical to being heard and understood.
Unfortunately, men have it too easy. All that is required is a good fitting suit without a pattern that will moiré on camera, and a tie. I am always amazed at how few men can tie a perfect Windsor knot, but I have to admit that even the asymmetrical are passable. A good haircut and a trimmed beard are preferred and among their many anchors, Don Lemon is the closest to being a fashion icon, pushing the envelope ever so slightly. Men understand the rules as narrow as they are and conforming is not difficult. Women have too many choices and options. Their concerns with “the mirror” have been inflicted by society. News is about turning the mirror in the other direction.
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