CNN had a rough year in 2021 that was filled with embarrassing scandals, ratings woes and uncertainty over the struggling network’s future.
“While CNN has long been plagued with liberal bias and is often accused of appearing to present news with an agenda, the network’s 2021 mishaps and gaffes go far beyond those of a typical mainstream news organization.”
“CNN has faced embarrassment on multiple occasions over the past few years, from offering disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti regular airtime to its Trump-era pivot away from founder Ted Turner’s just-the-facts approach to news, as the network constantly generates publicity for the wrong reasons. However, the network’s 2021 saw even redder faces as humiliation popped up at every turn. “
“CNN’s viewership had a brief, post-election spike, but Americans quickly turned off the liberal network once President Biden took office. CNN is now on pace to finish December down a staggering 81% among viewers from the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54 compared to its January audience. CNN has also shed 73% of total viewers over the same time frame. “
“CNN has failed to surpass the one-million viewer average during the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET for eight straight months and is on pace to finish December with its smallest audience of the year among both total and demo viewers.
CNN’s most-popular program in 2021 was the now-canceled “Cuomo Prime Time,” which finished the network’s dismal year as No. 25 among all cable news options. The liberal network’s scandal-plagued 9 p.m. ET host, who was fired earlier this month, finished behind 13 Fox News shows and 11 MSNBC programs despite being CNN’s most-watched offering.”
“CNN, which relied on bashing former President Trump for much of its content in recent years, averaged over two million viewers during the first three weeks of 2021 but only 690,000 since Biden took office on Jan. 20.“
“CNN fired longtime senior producer John Griffin in December after he was arrested for shocking sex crimes with young girls.
Griffin, a senior producer for CNN’s long-struggling morning program “New Day,” was affectionately referred to as “Griff” by colleagues until he was charged by a grand jury in Vermont “with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.”
The now-former CNN senior producer allegedly attempted to pay off witnesses, offered a woman $30,000 for a “mother daughter weekend with me,” and told authorities that he was “ashamed” when he was taken into custody after allegedly abusing a 9-year-old girl and enticing other minors.””
Comment: I confess to a full measure of schadenfreude over this mess. Did I really appear on CNN? I am ashamed. I guess Griffin is an example of Ivy League education. pl
https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnn-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-year
The doubling down on programming stylings despite plummeting ratings is absolutely a new media frontier. The quest is not for gold or even pewter. It doesn’t even appear they are panning for anything at this point but there is obviously a point to it and it looks like I’m unwillingly paying for it through one of these multi-trillion dollar deals…meh.
Remembering the minute by minute news addiction living in Wash DC as Watergate was playing out its final chapters. You did not dare leave the radio on because major news events were happening hourly and newscaster learned how to exploit our morbid curiosities with “upcoming” taunts and teases.
Then –poof– it was over and Nixon helicoptered out of our lives forever. I think we all felt we were cut off cold turkey, having these newly acquired 24 hour media addictions.
What would we now do with our lives and where would we get our daily adrenalin boosts? That in when the media changed – from a sober evening hour of the news on only three TV channels, to the more scandal taunting hourly addiction mainly on AM radio- 99% more fluff than facts. That was in the 1970’s.
Much of MSM was able to revive this scandal-taunting media addcition over Trump and yet again it was 99% more fluff than fact, but it still worked appealing to our both devilish and darker natures – on both sides of the aisle – the Trump is Hitler crowd and the GOP pearl clutchers who secretly thrived on the cheap outrage generated the scandalous media attacks.
Mass hysteria happens in unsettled times of transition – and “covid” became a global mass hysteria coinciding with Trump’s last year and after the fourth straight year of 24 hour media Trump bashing.
One can only be reminded of Lord of the Flies at a time like this – Kill the Piggy, Kill the Piggy finally reached its fatal frenzy. And now is the morning after.
I found my answer. They are fuel by tech coin not ratings:
https://twitter.com/lutherlowe/status/1473797510993002502
Elon Musk did a in-studio sit down interview with the Babylon Bee. His comment about CNN was hilariously brutal. Musk: “I’m not perverted enough, I guess” to be interviewed by CNN.
https://twitter.com/breeadail/status/1473616934499491846?s=20