TGIF. Brian Stelter here at 9pm ET Friday with a preview of President Trump's final weekend in office, plus much more...
The TV news realignment
One of the biggest stories in the media industry this winter involves CNN. So I'm going to take a stab at writing about it the same way I would have when I worked at The New York Times.
The story is a TV news realignment. Fox News Channel's ratings have sagged ever since Election Day. And CNN's ratings have surged to historic levels. These shifts are related, but it's not as simple as "X is up so Y is down." People who don't normally watch a lot of cable news are looking for reliable information about the pandemic, the presidential transition and the terror threat. CNN is benefiting and Fox is not.
Furthermore, a big chunk of Fox's base audience was demoralized by Trump's loss in November and disheartened by the pro-Trump riot last week. Fox's average viewership levels are about 20 percent lower than they were before the election, even though overall TV news viewership is elevated due to the current combination of crises.
Now, a certain amount of short-lived audience erosion was expected for Fox in the event of a Biden victory, since the channel and its viewers were rooting for Trump. And Newsmax, with its Biden-denying hosts like Greg Kelly, has certainly chipped away a bit of Fox's core. But this shift is bigger than Newsmax – and it's longer-lasting than many TV observers anticipated.
For Fox, it's extremely discomfiting not to be No. 1 all day every day. Fox's lineup of right-wing talk shows -- a rage-fueled alternative to CNN, MSNBC and nightly newscasts -- has made the network all but untouchable for most of the last two decades. Fox has wielded its No. 1 status the way a controversial head coach touts a championship. But now, all of a sudden, it can't point to the scoreboard anymore. Since the day after the election, CNN has been No. 1 in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic that the cable news business is built on.
Fox's audience has always skewed older, so Fox has always had total viewer bragging rights, even when CNN notched victories in younger demographics. But for the past nine straight days, CNN has also been No. 1 in the total viewer race. This surge has been driven by the big news out of DC, from the insurrection to the impeachment vote. MSNBC has been No. 2 many days, benefiting from some of the same factors but not nearly to the same extent.
This month to date, CNN has averaged 2.08 million viewers throughout the day; MSNBC has averaged 1.74 million; and Fox has averaged 1.41 million. Even in prime time, when Fox is at its strongest, it has been stuck in third place. Already, CNN's post-election victories have enhanced CNN's position in the marketplace. The network has been running "MOST WATCHED CABLE NEWS NETWORK" ads on the air this week.
So when you read about Rupert Murdoch re-asserting himself at Fox, when you hear about schedule changes, when you see far-right rhetoric overtaking news coverage, the context is Fox's steep fall.
Where have Fox fans gone?
Networks frequently conduct audience research, so Fox probably has a pretty solid answer to that question. Fox sources say that some viewers have sampled Newsmax, yes, but many have just chosen to turn off the news altogether. They're watching Hallmark, HGTV, or Netflix instead.
I asked Hofstra comms school dean Mark Lukasiewicz, a former NBC News and MSNBC exec, for his analysis on what has happened to the Fox base. He wrote back: "Tristan Harris famously said that social networks are about 'affirmation, not information' -- and the same can be said about cable news, especially in primetime. But for the conservative media ecosystem, just what should be affirmed has suddenly become an existential question. The unified wall of support for Trump has splintered after last week's assault on the Capitol. Republicans are disagreeing with Republicans on the most basic questions: Should Trump be impeached? Should he be convicted? Does he bear responsibility for what happened? I suspect traditionally conservative audiences are bewildered and confused. Confusion is certainly apparent among many conservative media producers and commentators -- trying to find their footing as the story of the Capitol assault, and the president's reaction, keeps getting worse."
True -- and let me just add, Fox is covering the daily revelations about the scale of the attack a whole lot less extensively than CNN or MSNBC. Fox is focusing on what it calls "Big Tech censorship" instead, but I strongly suspect that most people want news about the terror threat right now, not Twitter. Frankly, many Fox shows are running away from the news rather than reporting on it...
Five reasons for Fox's struggles
Colby Hall listed the reasons in this new Mediaite story. First: "A historic news cycle — for the competition." Second: Fox's decision to de-emphasize the news division "in favor of more opinion programming." Third: The opinion shows going "all-in on conspiracies." Fourth: Fox being "outflanked on the fringe right by OANN and Newsmax." Fifth: "Message fatigue." Read on...
The big unknown: How long will this last?
No doubt some Fox fanatics will come home in the coming weeks, as Fox will serve up a steady diet of anti-Democrat stories. Historically, when crazed news cycles calm down, so do CNN's ratings. But the ratings data could also portend a more permanent shift in audience habits. That's the big Q: How long will CNN remain ahead of Fox?
>> Related: There's a strong case to be made that this realignment is bigger than cable. CNN has also out-rated the broadcast networks during across-the-board special coverage of the Georgia runoff races, the Capitol riot, and the impeachment debate. During Wednesday's floor debate and vote, CNN was easily No. 1, with 3.8 million viewers in the afternoon, while the other networks each had 2.6 million viewers or fewer. It's a striking thing to see at the tail end of the Trump era, after four years of "fake news" slings and arrows...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Is Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott's job in danger? Six sources told The Daily Beast that her days at the network "may shortly be coming to an end." Fox Corp, however, said the story's "premise is wrong..." (Daily Beast)
-- Spotted: Outgoing MSNBC president Phil Griffin and incoming prez Rashida Jones having dinner (outdoors) in midtown Manhattan Thursday evening. Jones officially takes over after inauguration day...
-- Rounding out the cable news exec trifecta, here is Brian Steinberg's latest on Jeff Zucker's future with CNN: "He is expected to make his choice known sometime this month... and does not feel any pressure to leave the company..." (Variety)
-- Today in fact-checks that are only necessary because of viral far-right nonsense: "Woman in video at Capitol with arrested activist is not with CNN..." (AP)
James Murdoch blasts media outlets that promoted election denialism 🤔
Oliver Darcy writes: "Without directly mentioning Fox or his own family, James Murdoch assailed 'media property owners' and outlets that have pushed claims of election denialism. 'Those outlets that propagate lies to their audience have unleashed insidious and uncontrollable forces that will be with us for years,' Murdoch told the FT, noting the attack on the US Capitol. 'I hope that those people who didn’t think it was that dangerous now understand, and that they stop.'"
>> In a statement James and Kathryn Murdoch released together after the FT interview was published on Friday, the duo called out the owners of media orgs spreading election disinfo: "Many media property owners have as much responsibility for this as the elected officials who know the truth but choose instead to propagate lies. We hope the awful scenes we have all been seeing will finally convince those enablers to repudiate the toxic politics they have promoted once and forever..."
Limbaugh not bullish on Trump TV
Oliver Darcy writes: "Rush Limbaugh offered his thoughts to a caller Friday on whether Trump will launch a media network — and he didn't appear to be bullish on the possibility. First, Limbaugh told the caller that he would 'guarantee one thing isn't going to happen: Trump is not gonna have a daily show.' Then Limbaugh talked about the possibility of Trump launching his own major network where he employs other hosts. 'Well, that's gonna take a whole hell of a lot of money. We're talking billions and billions and billions of dollars ... I don't know that he has it. I don’t know that he's gonna be able to borrow it if he doesn't have it...'"
What was Mike Lindell doing at the White House?
WaPo photographer Jabin Botsford was able to take zoomed-in photos of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's notes before the Trump devotee entered the West Wing on Friday. The words "martial law if necessary" are visible. What gives?
Well, Lindell confirmed to CNN's Jim Acosta that "he met with Trump for five minutes, says he offered what he described as evidence of election fraud. Lindell says Trump told him to hand material to WH aides. Lindell claimed the words 'martial law' do not appear in the documents despite photos..."
--> NYT: "Lindell's ability to walk into the Oval Office and meet with Mr. Trump underscored the type of conspiracy theorists who still appeal to Mr. Trump, so long as they are saying what he wants to hear..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- CNN's lead story right now is titled "A tragic truth about Biden's inauguration." The truth is that "two great icons of US democracy will be sealed inside a vast cage to protect them from the people they serve..." (CNN)
-- On Friday morning I broke a bit of news about additional appointments to the Biden WH. Among the additions, TJ Ducklo will be deputy press secretary and Adam Schultz will be chief photographer... (CNN Politics)
-- Anita Dunn will be joining the WH on a "temporary basis," Hans Nichols scooped. "She'll work closely with Kate Bedingfield, who'll be White House communications director, and press secretary Jen Psaki..." (Axios)
-- "Stephanie Grisham, Trump's third press secretary, was the only Trump appointee who never lied in the briefing room. That’s because she never held a briefing," Brian Karem writes in a column about the WH press secretaries of the Trump era. "That’s as good as Trump’s White House got..." (Bulwark)
Fizzling out at the finish line
CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports: "Today is press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's last day at the White House. She is returning to Florida and won't be in the office next week. Her deputy, Brian Morgenstern, also finished today. That means the White House press shop will be largely vacant for the remainder of President Trump's term."
Conservative outlet issues stunning Dominion retraction
Oliver Darcy writes: "After receiving a letter threatening legal action, the conservative media outlet American Thinker issued an incredible statement admitting it had published 'completely false' information about Dominion that relied on 'discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories' about the company. American Thinker acknowledged that what it had published had 'no basis in fact' and apologized to readers for 'abandoning' journalistic principles..."
>> Dominion's reaction: "Platforms like American Thinker have helped amplify malicious lies about Dominion. These lies have diminished the credibility of U.S. elections, subjected officials and Dominion employees to harassment and death threats, and severely damaged the reputation of our company. We are continuing to take steps to restore both our good name and the public's faith in elections by holding those responsible to account..."
Lowry's questions
Brian Lowry writes: "The polling that shows how many Republicans have bought into the stolen-election myth is unsettling, and it raises an interesting question, not that we'll ever know the answer to it: If Trump sat down with whatever friendly interviewer of his choice and admitted the whole thing was a lie, at this point, would they believe him? And have the news outlets that propagated the lie ventured too far down that road to, in any face-saving way, step back from it? Well, without being forced to -- under the threat of litigation -- in the way that American Thinker was?"
Weekend planner
Saturday afternoon: The Biden transition will introduce key members of the admin's science team at an event in Wilmington...
The WH, keeping up appearances, claims that Trump "will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings..."
Saturday at 10pm: "The Faces of the Trump Insurrection," led by Anderson Cooper, debuts on CNN...
Sunday's big question: Will there be disruptive protests at state capitols?
Sunday at 10pm: "Kamala Harris: Making History," anchored by Abby Phillip, debuts on CNN. Lawrence O'Donnell will host a special titled "Transfer of Power" at the same time on MSNBC...
Sunday on "Reliable Sources"
We're still working on some guest bookings, but here is what we know so far: Maggie Haberman will reflect on the Trump years, new business partners Alex Stamos and Christopher Krebs will discuss how to cover extremism, Nicole Carroll and Dan Shelley will discuss news media safety, and Eugene Daniels and Nicole Hemmer will analyze America's appetite for news. Join us Sunday at 11am ET on CNN...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Politico has officially announced its new Playbook team: Rachel Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, and Tara Palmeri... (Playbook)
-- Top editor Matthew Kaminski tells Joe Pompeo the goal is to "push harder both into official Washington and unofficial Washington..." (Vanity Fair)
-- Speaking of Kaminski, numerous staffers talked on Friday about signing a critical letter over Ben Shapiro having guest-written Thursday's Playbook newsletter. By late afternoon, Kaminski emailed the entire newsroom with words of contrition and a reiteration of Politico's commitment to diversity...
-- Erik Wemple argues that Politico's staff revolt "went too far..." (WaPo)
-- I missed The AP's 2021 White House team announcement on Thursday. Nancy Benac will lead this team of reporters: Josh Boak, Alexandra Jaffe, Jonathan Lemire, Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, and Darlene Superville...
-- CBS News announced its DC assignments for the Biden years on Friday. Nancy Cordes will be chief WH correspondent. Weijia Jiang will remain at the WH and Ed O'Keefe will join her there. "Paula Reid will continue to report out of the Washington bureau..." (Deadline)
-- In "an 80-minute interview" with the WSJ, outgoing National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow criticized Trump and "said he plans to return to work in television and radio." CNBC or Fox Business? (WSJ)
-- I think this is a very important story by the NYT, for it points out that "the MAGA mind-set prevails" in "the GOP ranks," despite elite Republican talk about Trump's brand being ruined... (NYT)
Cook defends sending Parler into exile
Oliver Darcy writes: "In an interview airing this weekend on 'Fox News Sunday,' Apple CEO Tim Cook defended suspending Parler from the company's App Store. When asked by Chris Wallace about the move, which has earned Apple tons of scorn in conservative circles, Cook said the company 'looked at the incitement to violence that was on there' and said it didn't consider it to be a 'free speech' issue. Cook, however, said Parler could find its way back into the App Store if the owners 'get their moderation together...'"
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- Facebook is turning down the heat temporarily by "re-adding NEQ, its internal publisher quality score, to its news feed algorithm ahead of inauguration," per Kevin Roose. You may recall that "it was added post-election, then rolled back over employee objections..." (Twitter)
-- Staffers at Breitbart News "privately clashed" over whether Trump "was to blame for last week's deadly Capitol riot." Will Sommer got ahold of the internal messages... (Beast)
-- The first two weeks of 2021 were the deadliest of the Covid-19 pandemic so far. And the new variant could worsen the pandemic, the CDC warns... (CNN)
-- Brianna Keilar shared the texts of Covid-19 victims in an emotional segment on her program Friday afternoon... (CNN)
Wikileaks asks reporters for help getting Assange pardoned
Oliver Darcy writes: "In a last-minute bid to persuade Trump to pardon Julian Assange, Wikileaks has reached out to several high-profile reporters asking for help. In messages sent to reporters over Twitter DM, Wikileaks asked reporters if they had 'contacts that could help convince Trump to pardon Assange.' In another message to reporters, Wikileaks characterized Assange as someone who faces prison 'for journalistic activities' and described him as 'a free speech hero.' Wikileaks said it was asked to reach out to reporters by Assange's partner, Stella Moris. Moris confirmed to me she did ask for the org to reach out to reporters and said some have responded by asking for interviews. More in my story here..."
>> Stelter adds: I guess this explains why @Wikileaks messaged me saying "hi" the other day. Glad I ignored it...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- Kara Swisher writes about how the "chaos of the last two weeks offers an opportunity to rethink the role of technology in our lives..." (NYT)
-- "Groups and individuals spreading lies about the 2020 election and calling to protest the outcome have continued to hide in plain sight on Facebook, even as COO Sheryl Sandberg this week tried to downplay the platform's role in the Capitol riots," Brian Fung and Donie O'Sullivan report... (CNN)
-- Katherine Riley and Stephanie Stamm lay out in visual terms how Big Tech shrunk Trump's social reach... (WSJ)
-- Ben Collins writes about how "online far-right movements are splintering in the wake of last week's Capitol riot as some radical anti-government movements show signs of disillusionment with the relatively hands-off approach of some QAnon conspiracy theorists..." (NBC News)
-- Speaking of QAnon: Erick Trickey writes about how "long before QAnon," Ronald Reagan and William F. Buckley Jr. worked to purge "John Birch extremists from the party..." (WaPo)
-- Signal is continuing to grow, to the point that it's straining the company's servers: "Today exceeded even our most optimistic projections..." (Twitter)
"Apple Plans Podcasting Subscription Service"
"Apple — long considered the sleeping giant in the podcast space — is waking up," reported The Information's Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel. Their Friday exclusive: Apple "is discussing launching a new subscription service" which, they write, "could pose a threat to Spotify, SiriusXM, Amazon and other big companies that have in the past couple of years swallowed up podcasting production firms in an effort to gain more control of the podcast ad market. By charging for individual podcasts, Apple could potentially offer podcast creators a chance to make more money, drawing them to its orbit and away from rivals." Read the report here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
By Kerry Flynn:
-- Errin Haines has signed a two-book deal with with Simon & Schuster. The first book "will chronicle the rise of Black women in American politics as voters, organizers and candidates through the lens of the historic ascent of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris..." (The 19th*)
-- Jim VandeHei has released the Axios "Bill of Rights." Among the ten promises that caught my eye: "We will never have an opinion section." As NYT grows its Opinion section and The Information launches one, Axios declares it won't even try it... (Axios)
-- Gannett CEO Mike Reed has set a goal for 10 million paid digital subscriptions in the next five years, USA Today's Nathan Bomey reports. The newspaper conglomerate surpassed 1 million digital subscribers in Q3 2020. Reed said Gannett is also considering a paid digital subscription for USA Today, which currently only offers one for ad-free access... (USA Today)
-- Yewande Komolafe and Eric Kim are joining NYT Food and Cooking as cooking writers... (NYT)
-- Taylor Lorenz reports on Snapchat Spotlight, a feature that is paying out millions to social media stars and just casual users who create compelling videos... (NYT)
Weekend reads 👓
By Katie Pellico:
-- Read Luke Mogelson’s firsthand account of the Capitol riot, and why it was "a predictable apotheosis of a months-long ferment..." (New Yorker)
-- "Riot? Insurrection?" David Bauder explains why “words matter" in describing the Capitol siege... (AP)
-- Some people who stormed the Capitol "claim they were citizen journalists." LAT's Molly Hennessy-Fiske interviews a Proud Boys leader who she says was "treading a blurred line between journalism and activism for a far-right cause..." (LAT)
-- Yaël Eisenstat, a former Facebook employee, writes about "How to Hold Social Media Accountable for Undermining Democracy..." (Harvard Business Review)
-- Read about (and watch) Eléonore Hamelin’s short documentary "The People’s Newspaper," which documents The Navajo Times' effort to cover the Covid-19 crisis in Navajo nation... (New Yorker)
-- "Many retirement communities have declined to name names during the pandemic." Meet Diana Wiener, the 80-year-old who started a newsletter "to do just that..." (NYT)
-- A related read on the power of the newsletter: Read Bloomberg's profile of Judd Legum, whose newsletter Popular Information prompted "a political reckoning" for corporations... (Bloomberg)
ICYMI: Sara Sidner on covering the Covid-19 'war zone' in L.A.
ICYMI: CNN's Sara Sidner opened up on this week's "Reliable Sources" podcast and explained what led up to the now-viral moment when she "lost it on live TV." She discussed the media's blind spots and "bias" in covering the Covid-19 crisis on the West Coast. Hear the conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen to your pods...
"Batwoman" is back on Sunday
Brian Lowry writes: "'Batwoman' begins its second season Sunday with a new star, Javicia Leslie, replacing Ruby Rose. But the CW drama still feels like the same flawed show, raising the question of whether this attempted baton (or Batarang) pass might have been wiser to either simply recast – as opposed to creating a new character and shoehorning her into the existing story – or have started from scratch..."
Three notable new documentaries
Brian Lowry writes: "Three notable documentaries are debuting this weekend, and I only devoted a full review to 'MLK/FBI,' a look at J. Edgar Hoover’s obsession with and surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., which another FBI director, James Comey, calls one of the darkest chapters in the bureau's history. The others are 'Some Kind of Heaven,' an interesting portrait of residents (and one outsider) at Florida's retirement community The Villages, which is called 'Disney World for retirees,' produced in conjunction with The New York Times; and 'Assassins,' an investigation into the strange circumstances surrounding the 2017 murder of Kim Jong Un's half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, in Malaysia's airport, in what plays like a deranged conspiracy thriller..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN
-- "While nearly every movie has been delayed in wake of the pandemic, Warner Bros. has taken the unusual step of releasing 'Godzilla vs. Kong' two months earlier than expected. The legendary monsters will face off on March 26, instead of May 21, in theaters and on the streaming service HBO Max..." (Variety)
-- Selena Gomez was named for the late Tejano music star and is following in her footsteps, Lisa Respers France reports. Gomez has dropped a Spanish single titled “De Una Vez..." (CNN)
-- One more from Lisa: "Saved by the Bell" star Dustin Diamond has been hospitalized with cancer... (CNN)
"'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' EP Sharon Hoffman Exits"
Lacey Rose's scoop for THR: "Jimmy Kimmel Live! executive producer Sharon Hoffman is exiting the late night show. The news comes some seven months after the announcement of her hiring, then characterized as a rare shake-up atop the ABC show. Hoffman was said to be chosen in part because she had a background more firmly rooted in news, which was desirable given that late night — and Kimmel, in particular — had become increasingly political, a tonal shift that's continued to pay dividends for JKL." But now she's leaving... A spokesperson declined to comment on the details...
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
Pup of the day!
"Reliable Sources" producer Katie Pellico writes: "After a lifetime of oohing and aahing at passing pups, I finally have my very own! Meet 4-month-old chihuahua mix Sonny!"
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