President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

[Regan MacNeil]

4x a miniscule number still isn't much of anything.

 

[The Big Ragu]

3.3 million viewers in a slot that typically draws 700,000 viewers is significant.

The narrative you are so anxious to create defies any objective reality that the people actually running CNN are living in.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Tucker Carlson, who drew fewer viewers than that most nights, didn't have much of anything ratings wise, I guess.

<Bart Simpson gif>

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Nielsen's final ratings put it at 3.3 million.

That "disappointment" characterization is subjective. They might see it totally differently.

They reached more than 4 times the number of 25 to 45 year olds they typically get at 8 pm. And it gave them a huge ratings boost in the 9 to 11 hours that followed the Town Hall. It was CNN's second most-viewed single-candidate town hall since 2016. The first was Joe Biden in 2020, which drew 3.4 million viewers, which is pretty much on par with this one, and nobody called that a disappointment, although there was no controversy involved with that one that risked reputation. That said, the reputation thing is kind of a "so what?" for CNN. Their ratings have been dropping like a rock over the last 2 years, so it's not like what they have been doing was drawing viewers because of their supposed good reputation.

Television is not a business noted for taking the long range view. Putting Trunp on in a forum where he could do his rally thing worked to goose CNN's dismal ratings, but how often will that trick work? The bushel barrels full of excess commentary on this event made it clear to those of us (99 percent of all Americans) who didn't watch that Trump has no new material for his bit and has no intention of creating any. It's long long time between now and Election Day 2024, What will CNN do when Trump, as he will, starts giving his "exclusive" air time to Fox and the Fox wannabes at the far end of the cable news shelf?
CNN's dilemma is not unlike that faced by DeSantis. If it tries to be Fox Lite, the viewers it's seeking will continue to prefer the uncut version. In the unlikely event it tries to be MSNBC Lite, same thing, just different viewers. And if it muddles along, nobody will watch. Middle of the road political talk has no audience and for good reason. An hour of plain old news in prime time might work, but it'd be awfully expensive and Warner Discovery shows no sign of investing in the CNN product.

 

[goalmouth]

CNN is media, not journalism.

 

[Justin_Rice]

So if I'm on a bass boat and shoot some guy on another boat in the lake, will the headline read that I'm a Navy veteran seeing as how I was a bridgewing sniper and on the security force?

Side question: What's the maximum sea state at which one could expect to be able to fire from one ship to another and hit what you were aiming at? SS 1? SS 0?

 

[The Big Ragu]

Television is not a business noted for taking the long range view. Putting Trunp on in a forum where he could do his rally thing worked to goose CNN's dismal ratings, but how often will that trick work? The bushel barrels full of excess commentary on this event made it clear to those of us (99 percent of all Americans) who didn't watch that Trump has no new material for his bit and has no intention of creating any. It's long long time between now and Election Day 2024, What will CNN do when Trump, as he will, starts giving his "exclusive" air time to Fox and the Fox wannabes at the far end of the cable news shelf?
CNN's dilemma is not unlike that faced by DeSantis. If it tries to be Fox Lite, the viewers it's seeking will continue to prefer the uncut version. In the unlikely event it tries to be MSNBC Lite, same thing, just different viewers. And if it muddles along, nobody will watch. Middle of the road political talk has no audience and for good reason. An hour of plain old news in prime time might work, but it'd be awfully expensive and Warner Discovery shows no sign of investing in the CNN product.

The fact that anyone thinks they are trying to be Fox Lite because of that town hall (I know you don't think that) demonstrates how triggered people were.

I think you are probably right about their prospects looking tough, but 1) they actually had little to lose by doing that town hall given how things have been for them, and 2) maybe the attention jump starts something for them, that along with more changes can draw some new viewers.

I doubt that is going to happen, but 1) I can understand why Licht would have been thinking that way, and 2) before writing off CNN for good, I'd say to wait and see what the next year or two holds. All it takes is one good war or other huge news event (including Trump winning in 2024), and maybe they can recapture some of the old viewership (although I'd be afraid that that will be temporary too, if I was them).

 

[goalmouth]

The side benefit of Anderson Fukcing Cooper siding with the LGBTQ-hating fascists is that come New Years Eve, they'll know exactly where to find him.

 

[Octave]

Do they still wear their high school class rings and letterman jackets like true dorks and losers?

Aye. There the fierce DeSmet-SLUH or a private school-any other private school rivalry burns as brightly as the Peloponnesian Wars once did.
But the most fun one to behold was them bickering over which city held more greatness, St. Louis or Kansas City.

 

[User 1019]

Why not. I know more than a few Marines whose greatest accomplishment in life was going through basic training when they were 18. I respect their service, but having stickers on your car or flags on your house 40 years after serving smacks a little bit of peaking in high school.

Who knew flying a flag outside my home long after I retire means I peaked in high school?

 

[Slacker]

Do they still wear their high school class rings and letterman jackets like true dorks and losers?

One of my classmates still goes to every football game, and every time he wears his team jersey from DECADES ago.

 

[CD Boogie]

Who knew flying a flag outside my home long after I retire means I peaked in high school?

I don't think I'm alone in that sentiment. Again, I totally respect your service. My parents are buried in Arlington. I guess it's all subjective, in as much as the guys I'm thinking of in terms of this really did peak a long time ago. Obviously it ain't a blanket statement.