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The Spectacle Blog
It’s never a nice thing to take amusement in someone else’s troubles.
Yet just in the straight-up professional world of competition in the media, the recent news about the CNN firing of its president Jon Klein is worth a note. The story, out there the last few days, is in the Wall Street Journal today.
The other week the ratings for the cable news and commentary shows were posted here, with a hat tip to Drudge.
They had these listings for the so-called “prime time” hours from 8-11.
Here they are again, but posted together for same time slots, CNN and Fox only:
• 8 pm
FOXNEWS O’REILLY 3,977,000
CNN — CNN had to drop programming and try yet
again with ex-Governor Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker. No time
yet to have a fair comparison, other than the fact that CNN has
just repeatedly been unable to compete, hence the turmoil and
change.
• 9 pm
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,645,000
CNN KING 620,000 — Larry King, once the
King of Cable News, is now having to retire. Literally. Sean
Hannity just absolutely controls this time period.
Period.
• 10 pm
FOXNEWS GRETA 1,856,000
CNN COOPER 581,000 — Anderson Cooper
is over there gasping for ratings air against Greta Van
Susteren.
So. Jon Klein is gone. Toast. What does this mean?
That CNN is in the hands of managers, not creators. Managers who are liberals. Just as with the folks at CBS who run the Katie Couric CBS Evening News show and got some of their highest ratings the night they had Rush Limbaugh on for barely a minute, things are headed south. Big time.
CNN, the original “cable news network,” surely looks over there at Fox and just don’t get it… deliberately or because they can’t. Once upon a time Ted Turner laughed at the idea Fox News would even come close to competing with CNN.
And now…wow.
The Hannity-Larry King thing is particularly fascinating. Here was the Number One guy bar none….presidents and heads of state came to that show. America dropped everything at 9 pm to listen to Larry and whomever.
And now? And now head-to-head with Sean Hannity the results are so bad Larry King is being politely sent to the media showers. Mr. Klein has been in charge. But the betting here is that whomever is picked to replace Mr. Klein CNN will have picked — Mr. Klein. Which is to say some nice liberal manager who simply doesn’t understand what’s happening in this country.
Meanwhile, having fled the King at 9 pm., America Hannitizes. In the millions. Literally.
This is just amazing to watch. Tea Parties, Fox News, talk radio, conservative books at the top of the NYT bestseller list… and folks on the other side of this discussion spin around in chaos whether they are in the White House, Congress, in the media or wherever.
Again. Amazing.
And it’s only begun.
View all comments (18) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Jeffrey Lord
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/09/27/oreilly-hannity-greta-get-cnn
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Derek Leaberry| 9.27.10 @ 1:58PM
The Left's blabbermouths are worse than the Right's blabbermouths. Hurrah!
Catherine| 9.27.10 @ 2:55PM
Talk about a blabbermouth! You obviously need a good woman to curb your more obnoxious tendencies.
Alan Brooks| 9.27.10 @ 9:29PM
"It's never a nice thing to take amusement in someone else's troubles."
Never say never. Taking amusement in Stalin's death in '53, and Pol Pot's death in '98, was all just good clean fun.
ggoblue| 9.27.10 @ 2:35PM
36 days until we kick them in ... well ... the spot where their balls should be!
can't wait to see rachel and keith cry
Lullabys, Legends and Lies| 9.27.10 @ 2:52PM
Last Friday was Larry King's last week of shows, so you would think, maybe, just maybe, he might be able to beat Hannity for the week. Nope, it doesn't seem like that happened at all!! Take last Thursday as an example (which just happened to be King's second to last show, and the most recent I could find rating too), Hannity–2,026,000 viewers, Larry King Live —719,000 viewers. No bounce for retiring Larry, too bad!!
What does poor Old Larry have to do to get some ratings America? Drink gasoline, and then light a cigarette (hey, it worked for Daffy Duck)? See you later Larry, you've been boring us to death for at least the last decade!!
CNN doesn't get it, and they probably never will, and neither do the other networks, we're tired of your crap, and we're not buying your crap any more!! So stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes, we are smarter than you think. Or, just keep on doing what you're doing, and we will make you irrelevant in the end!! Your choice?
And CNN's great new idea is Spitzer and Parker? Come on now? Client #9? Get real!! Hannity's ratings are about to go up some more!!
CNN=Irrelevant!!
Patriot| 9.27.10 @ 2:56PM
Client #9 and Kathleen Porker--what a pair!
Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr.| 9.27.10 @ 5:04PM
Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, & Greta Van Susteren get CNN President fired. Not really Jefferey. He got himself fired by playing the American public for fools. By presenting "news coverage" with an intentional left leaning slant CNN & Joe Klein boxed themselves into a corner they cannot get out of. In a country where polls continually show a center-right majority amongst the American people CNN, MSLSD, the big three of network tv & PBS will always receive lower ratings because they cater to the minority in the American populace, plus they go out of their way to insult the increasing majority of Americans who do not see things the way the left & the Democrats see them. As for Fox News Channel I like their news coverage, but have stopped watching their pundits. Glenn Beck is on too early, Bill O'Reilly has gone totally p.c. since the coronation of B.O. (he stinks!), Sean Hannity is a nice guy who seems to mean well, but is too cozy with the GOP establishment (Tokyo Rove, Gingrich e.g.) for my tastes, and the tv is off before Greta Van Susteren comes on so I can't judge her show. If Fox News is winning the ratings it is because they are offering the American public news coverage they trust. I don't trust their pundits enough to give them the credit, save for Greta Van Susteren who I've never watched before. The other person who deserves ALOT of credit is Bernie Goldberg for exposing the left wing bias of the the other networks through his books & tv appearances. The left no longer has the total stranglehold on the news media they once had & the people are tuning them out because they now have alternatives they never had in the past.
newrouter| 9.27.10 @ 5:56PM
Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr wrote:
"Glenn Beck is on too early"
you can watch it here with a day delay:
http://www.watchglennbeck.com/
jomo2009| 9.27.10 @ 5:59PM
If Piers Morgan is indeed King's replacement, Hannity should be able to vacuum up most of his shrinking audience. Morgan would just reinforce CNN's bias towards the international left.
Blackwatch| 9.27.10 @ 7:05PM
If the new brain at CNN has any cajones he/she (you cant always tell these days...) will put in a call to Greg Gutfield and Andrew Breitbart and put them on the air at 8:00 pm vs. The Factor.
The BIG TV & Red Eye Hour would be a triumph!
Don't bloviate and be pithy!
SoCon| 9.27.10 @ 7:10PM
Gutfeld and Breitbart would make a great team--what about Bill and Andy?
Rich Rostrom| 9.27.10 @ 10:15PM
This is nice, but it isn't some Gettysburg-level victory. If those ratings numbers are correct, less than 2% of Americans watch either the Fox show or its CNN rivals. When conservative media have the attention of most of the other 98% of Americans, that will be decisive.
Mike Rogers| 9.27.10 @ 11:30PM
The rest are all listening to Limbaugh!
Mimi| 9.28.10 @ 8:10AM
You gotta just love RUSH...Yesterday he put the election in a nut-shell, with this golden-nuggett.
" You can't have it both ways : You either vote for Obama and the Democrats or AMERICA "
Kerry| 9.28.10 @ 9:37AM
The rest arent wasting their time with TV, they are getting on with their lives. It is fun though to drop in on Fox and watch it sometimes. My TV is a virgin though when it comes to the CNN and MSNBC channels. It has never been there.
Antonio Mangione| 9.28.10 @ 2:18PM
I'm an independent -I don't like Republicans nor Democrats- and I must say this is the worst comment section I've ever seen. It sounds like a bunch of whinny, teenagers "dishing dirt". When are people going to get over the side and start working together. Who cares about Hannity v King?! For the first time in American history this generation of children will be more illiterate than the previous one! THAT'S SCARY! Yet all I hear is one side crying about the other. Ugh politics has turned into a f-ing sporting event. There isn't a winner in that situation: only losers.
Patriot| 9.28.10 @ 4:20PM
"Whinny" teenagers? Don't think so--we're not horses.
Sounds like you have your own problems with illiteracy.
BTW, you're a fool if you don't know that our disastrous public school system is run by liberals.
You'd better pick a side, moron.