Black People Rejecting Fox News And Its Divisive Messages

The ultra conservative Fox News Channel is so quick to brag about its precious ratings at every turn, but some aspects of the network's ratings are quite disturbing according to an article published by the Huffington Post which cites the New York Times.

The disturbing numbers, if true, are probably not all that surprising when you think of how hostile Fox News, with its 24/7 cycle of conservative commentary masquerading as news, has been, historically, toward black people and issues of importance to black people.

I know, you're stunned by that news.

From the Huffington Post:

Fox News may be the undisputed ratings champion in cable news, but not among black viewers.

The New York Times' Brian Stelter tweeted that, according to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News has averaged just 29,000 black viewers in primetime so far this television season (9/09-7/10). That represents just 1.38% of its 2.102 million total viewer audience.

CNN and MSNBC, meanwhile, both have far more black viewers, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of their overall audiences.

MSNBC has averaged 145,000 black viewers, representing 19.3% of its 751,000 total viewer audience.

CNN has averaged 134,000 black viewers, representing 20.7% of its 648,000 total viewer audience.

Is anyone really surprised that black people appear to be rejecting the messages of Fox News? Fox News is getting its ratings, but is doing it by racially dividing this country.

These ratings for Fox News are indicative of a bigger problem for Fox News (the fact that its messages tend to be rejected by a large number of people of color).

Since Fox News is in essence the public relations firm of the Republican party, eventually this trend will spell doom for the GOP if it does not broaden its political base (beyond just whites ... and particularly conservative whites).

How Much Of A Nose Dive Can Lou Dobbs’ Ratings At CNN Take?

CNN’s conservative host Lou Dobbs, who is severely damaging the credibility of CNN as a true and honest-to-goodness news organization, may be taking a hit in the ratings according to The New York Observer. This is no surprise. Dobbs has been so one-side and so pig-headed in pushing this birther non-story, that he is behaving more like a Fox News operative placed at CNN to destroy it from within. In many ways, Dobbs’ obsession with the birther story fits his conservative xenophobic pattern (his other obsession is barking endlessly about illegal immigration).

From The New York Observer:

To wit: According to The Observer’s analysis of Nielsen data, in recent weeks, as criticism of Mr. Dobbs has continued to go up, his ratings at CNN have continued to go down.

Mr. Dobbs’ first began reporting on Obama birth certificate conspiracy theories on the night of Wednesday, July 15. In the roughly two weeks since then, from July 15 through July 28, Mr. Dobbs’ 7 p.m. show on CNN has averaged 653,000 total viewers and 157,000 in the 25-54 demo.

By contrast, during the first two weeks of the month (July 1 to July 14) Mr. Dobbs averaged 771,000 total viewers and 218,000 in the 25-54 demo. In other words, Mr. Dobbs’ audience has decreased 15 percent in total viewers and 27 percent in the demo since the start of the controversy.

Arguably, interest in cable news has slumped across the board since early July when attention over Michael Jackson’s death was still at a fever pitch.

But, that said, Mr. Dobbs’ ratings over the past two weeks, during the height of the “birthers” controversy, are also down significantly compared to his overall numbers during the second quarter of 2009 when he averaged 769,000 total viewers and 222,000 in the 25-54 demo.

In summary, if Mr. Dobbs’ affinity for “birthers” is a ratings ploy, it’s a pretty ineffective one.

But, how far can a man’s ratings truly nose dive if he already is at the bottom of the barrel?

It’s a relatively short fall for Lou Dobbs.