On Monday, Variety reported that Fox News had once again dominated all comers I the annual ratings, not merely blowing out CNN, MSNBC and HLN, but drawing more viewers than the combined averages of the three other networks. Fox News averaged 1.774 million viewers in primetime; the other three averaged a combined 1.626 million viewers in primetime. Fox finished sixth among all basic cable companies. The addition of Megyn Kelly to primetime has been a boon for Roger Ailes and company, with Kelly up 23% in total viewers in the timeslot.
No wonder CNN, which is struggling to outpace Headline News, is shifting away from news coverage altogether, according to boss Jeff Zucker. Zucker told Capital New York that he wants news coverage that “is just not being so obvious,” instead looking for “an attitude and a take.” Zucker said, “We’re all regurgitating the same information. I want people to say, ‘You know what? That was interesting. I hadn’t thought of that.’ The goal for the next six months is that we need more shows and less newscasts.”
Meanwhile, at MSNBC, all semblance of evenhandedness has disappeared, with network president Phil Griffin explaining, “we’re not the place [for breaking news]. Our brand is not that.” Griffin announced in March that he thought MSNBC would be beating Fox News by the end of the year. Instead, two of his most publicized hosts, Alec Baldwin and Martin Bashir, have been ousted.
For all of its opposition, from MSNBC to CNN to HLN to Media Matters, Fox News keeps on going strong. Sadly, its opponents can’t say the same.
Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013). He is also Editor-in-Chief of TruthRevolt.org. Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter @benshapiro.