Just when it seemed that the Boston police had all but given up hope that the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, would be found Friday, all hell broke loose just after 7pm ET when Tsarnaev was found hiding in a boat just outside the police search area.
According to TV Newser, a total of 46 million Americans tuned in to watch the eventual capture, and while NBC News won the overall night, Fox News beat both CNN and MSNBC in total viewers. During the 8pm hour, Fox actually beat CBS News. CNN got some good news, as well. In the cable news race it won the key 25-54 demo.
The real story here, however, is how embarrassingly low MSNBC’s ratings were. Apparently, even liberals are looking for something more than pin-headed affirmation of their beliefs when real news is breaking.
8-11pmET
NBC – 8.933
ABC – 7.207
CBS – 6.741
FNC – 5.970
CNN – 5.371
MSNBC – 1.717
7pmET (Cable Only)
FNC – 5.748
CNN – 5.195
MSNBC – 1.429
During the 8pm hour, Fox News beats CBS:
NBC – 10.703
ABC – 7.794
FNC – 7.645 / 1.926 A25-54
CBS – 6.858
CNN – 6.784 / 2.474 A25-54
MSNBC – 1.744 / 618K A25-54
Fox News was a big winner last week. They not only dominated in the ratings, but as I wrote last week, their overall coverage was outstanding. Those that cover the media agree with me. Oh, they will never give Fox the credit it deserves for good work. But their silence and inability to find anything to attack Fox with is its own kind of agreement and confirmation.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC