CNN ratings at a 20 year low (Decatur, Arabi: house, oil, activities)

[gog8rs]

I grew up watching CNN (started watching either in middle or highschool), but I have grown tired of their pandering to various minority groups. Just the news, please.

[Galounger]

It's hard for cable company's to maintain their ratings now a days with so many other channels to compete with. But profit wise it often doesn't matter too much because the channel and a lot of it's competitors are often owned by the same companies.

[cittic10]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I was starting to worry a little about our hometown international news channel. What a great source of civic pride CNN has been for the last 32 years, in literally every corner of the globe.

However, despite the ratings it appears that CNN is still extremely profitable.

CNN is an embarrassment not only to Atlanta but to our entire country and it's an insult to our intelligence.

I'm sure it's incredibly profitable. After all, they're pretty much non-stop commercials and what are obviously paid stories.

Originally Posted by billl

CNN just hasn't been the same since Uncle Ted left.

How true.

Originally Posted by Galounger

It's hard for cable company's to maintain their ratings now a days with so many other channels to compete with. But profit wise it often doesn't matter too much because the channel and a lot of it's competitors are often owned by the same companies.

Corporate media is a joke. You actually get dumber from watching it.

Originally Posted by Box

CNN needs to be more like Al-Jazeera.

It would be doing a great service to the viewing public if it did. I watch Al J (I'm actually watching it as I write this), as well as other international news stations and you learn more about what's going on in the world in 10 minutes of those stations than you do in an entire year of CNN.

One thing you may notice about Al Jazeera (AL J English), is there is no commercials first of all, there is no opinion shows or the "You suck, We rule" programming, there is none of this "share your feelings and video with us on twitter" BS, there is no obsessing over certain fright stories (disasters, pink slime, economic collapse) missing white girl cases, or those car chases that msnBS is known for, the anchors are not multi-millionaire celebrities (heck there's a new anchor every day it seems), very little sports coverage, and no bias.

CNN used to have a separate channel called Headline News that played mostly commercials but had the occasional actual headline. Now that channel's motto is "News & Views", with emphasis on the VIEWS. It's completely unwatchable. They all are.

I just want to know what's going on. I don't want to be told how to think about it. I completely capable of making up my own mind.

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by Box

CNN needs to be more like Al-Jazeera.

I agree. Stop being a video National Enquirer and get back to news.

[billl]

Unfortunately, all televised news reporting in the US has gone away from journalism and moved towards entertainment. Why? Because that's what gets ratings, and ratings drive the price for commercials, and commercials generate revenue.

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by billl

Unfortunately, all televised news reporting in the US has gone away from journalism and moved towards entertainment. Why? Because that's what gets ratings, and ratings drive the price for commercials, and commercials generate revenue.

So let's watch Al Jazeera and move the advertisers to news channels.

[Novadhd5150]

If they stopped running race baiting pieces and ads on erectile dysfunction maybe more people would watch.
Fortunately for the they have a strong brand and international viewership.

[po-boy]

I agree that the quality of CNN has gone downhill over the years, and I think it would be better if it had not been purchased by Time Warner. It was much better when Turner Broadcasting was independent. That being said, I think CNN is probably the best source of actual news among American cable networks. If there is actual breaking news and I'm going to watch tv to see what is going on, I always go to CNN.

The problem (ratings-wise) is that when there are not big breaking news stories, the other networks have CNN beat on the talking-head stuff. Fox caters to the right, MSNBC caters to the left, and CNN is mostly in the middle (with a slight left lean IMO). People generally watch something that reinforces their beliefs, so they go with either Fox or MSNBC.

I have known about the declining ratings at CNN for a while, I'm glad to read that its other activities keep it profitable.

[arjay57]

The Politico article made a good point about the difference between CNN and personality-driven networks like MSNBC and Fox. CNN is still trying to steer a more middle of the road, hard news course, but many viewers prefer something that caters to their political leanings.

[Iconographer]

Not surprised. Bad journalism seldom triumphs in the long run. The public is smarter than that.