Dr. Steve Turley does a pretty good job of laying out why CNN is tanking. He lists something like 7 major reasons. IMHO it basically comes down to CNN is doing Partisan Click Bait Tabloid junk and NOT anything remotely like “Professional Journalism”.
What’s more, thanks to the Project Veritas videos ( I linked to one in an earlier article but there are several, so look them up…) we know that the Journalists at CNN are NOT running the show. It is the non-Journalist Party Activist Manager at the top of the company that is directly calling the editorial shots. That’s not journalism. That’s party activism.
Tim Pool had a video on this too, and it is worth a look. He stresses the “click bait” benefit more (ad revenue is based on eyeballs and click bait to get folks excited recruits more eyeballs… for a little while…)
I also found it amusing when Turley points out that CNN only got half the rating of the prior “Democratic Debate”. Well, when you KNOW that party shills hand the debate questions to their preferred candidate and you KNOW the whole thing is rigged to keep the only real threat out of the “debates” and you KNOW it’s all going to be “How much do YOU hate Orange Man, and why?” and who can spout the most identity politics tripe in a minute: Just what reason is there to watch?
So it seems there was a “debate” and nobody watched. A total of 8 million viewers. Yeah, 8. So that’s about 1/40 of the population and about 1/10 of the Democrats… (The Wiki on party strength has a lot of different guesses but puts Democrats at about 1/3 the registered population, then you get to adjust for things like kids not being voters… so it’s a bit of a guess).
Yeah, CNN and the “debates” can’t even get over 10% of their own party to watch…
RSBN had over 34,000 LIVE viewers for ONE Trump Rally. A complete unknown internet journalist site. With the rally spread over a half dozen other major outlets in competition. Lord only knows what total viewership was.
Now Serioso has repeatedly promoted the “professional journalists” as the best way to get to the truth; and here we see why CNN is not that. I’d wager pretty heavy that the same pattern will hold true for the NYT, MSNBC, PBS, etc. etc. It isn’t being run by “Professional Journalists” to report the news, fairly and accurately. It is being run by Party Activists with an Agenda. The People figured that out and left in droves for alternative sources and now there’s massive layoffs over the whole field. That’s what happens when you blow your credibility.
The fix is easy, but those folks will not do it. Just have a politically neutral editorial policy and put a real Professional Journalist in charge of the editorial staff. CLEARLY label your Opinion Pieces as Opinion and your News Reports as NEWS and keep the news UN-biased. You know, like it is supposed to be.
1. Project Veritas showed Zucker dictating content for political effect.
2. Democratic Debate (infomercial for Dims) has nobody watching.
3. “Fredo” incident where Quomo has a melt down and CNN supports the tantrum.
4. Muller Fiasco. 2 years 24 x 7 lies. Lost 1/3 of audience on that.
5. Stormy Daniels and her “creepy porn lawyer” being featured for months.
6. CNN Tabloid based offerings. Malaysian lost jet into a black hole?
7. Losing their Airport Monopoly as Clear Channel launches a competitor service.
I’d say it in a shorter list: Being lied to for political effect in a Jerry Springer ambiance is not news.
Turley also points out “we curate our own news” as we choose the when, what, and how. We’re not doing “appointment TV” much anymore.
Now under 1 Million viewers even in their best prime time slots. Headed for obscurity. There are podcasts with bigger audience share. Heck, Bongino has about 1/3 of a million subscribers and that doesn’t include all the folks like me, who will never subscribe to anyone as you must have a “track me” account to subscribe. Nor does that include his podcast followers of his videos (he simulcasts the show to TV and pods…)
So that’s why I don’t depend on “Professional Journalists” at places like CNN. Simply because they are not allowed to do their job and are being directed to be political shills and spin click bait lie stories by upper “management” who are willing to drive their company into a ditch in exchange for Kissing The Party Ring (or backside…). Instead I look to independent Journalists and non-USA sources who will “talk dirt” about any party in America, not just one party, or only run one Orange Man Bad Story line.
UPDATE: Huff’nPuff Piece put on chopping block:
From Tim Pool, the Huffington Post is up for sale amid layoffs across Left Media Landscape:
Musings from the Chiefio 
Que the ominous music and dramatic shot of the two gun slingers turning to face each other in the street. (small boy runs across the street and takes shelter in the general store)
I think we all can understand differences of opinions, and differences of views. In other words, I can fully understand why someone would vote democrat, although I do not agree with them, I can also understand why they would parrot the mantra of “Fox is Fake News” given it is a requirement to be a member of the left, and they have never watched (or read) Fox NEWS (versus commentary).
And I can even understand (again not agree) with those who would accept CNN as “unbiased” if that was their sole source of news. The whole thing about ignorance and bliss comes into play.
But once someone has been shown the Zucker tapes – where he basically tells the world, in his own words, that CNN has nothing to do with news, and its sole purpose it to hate Trump – and still buys into the myth of journalism at CNN, that I cannot understand. That is either stupid, or insane.
Ignorance is understandable and curable. Stupidity is not understandable and is chronic.
E.M.S.
In Australia the Sydney Morning Herald, the oldest newspaper in the country has been sold off “due to declining revenues”. Previously (and possibly still) a stalwart of the AGW brigade (they published their first The Great Barrier Reef will be Dead in 6 months back in 1971). With them went the Canberra Times and The Age (not so affectionally known since the 1970’s as the Melbourne Soviet), and the Financial Review (the only paper who treats their readers with contempt) all of whom were losing circulation. The various new owners have apparently decided on a small change in policy, but in the meantime there are a number of journalist & other casualties to add to those lost in the last few years of decline.
That leaves the National Broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation supposedly bound by Charter to be neutral but known by several epithets of which the Absolutely Biased Corp. would be the most printable. They have just awarded their senior staff an average pay rise of 70% for the year. There are a few people in Australia who would like even 10% of that rise and they vote. Even our politicians are starting to think that something might have to be done.
I don’t travel much, but CNN airport broadcast was annoying. I was happy to read “Losing their Airport Monopoly as Clear Channel launches a competitor service”.
They have just awarded their senior staff an average pay rise of 70% for the year.
That sounds like a burn cash surplus before we fold or get bought out move.