Fox’s latest Neilsen numbers are its worst since 2001, and in prime time it’s losing ground to MSNBC in that crucial 25-54 age bracket. But if the Fox brass is considering any changes to its modus operandi, you can't tell from some of the recent additions to its stable – particularly Erick Erickson of Red State, and radio host Mark Levin, both of whom are dyed-in-the-wool right wingers.
Erickson, recently cut loose from CNN, has criticized the right-wing outrage-mongering machine recently; but he’s got his own history of outrage-mongering zingers. Like his suggestion that “feminazis were enraged” by an anti-abortion Super Bowl ad because “that’s what being too ugly to get a date does to your brain." Maybe he’ll try to take a higher road at Fox. I think he tried to do that in an op-ed published Friday, though it was somewhat incoherent and I wasn't quite sure what he was saying. I think it was that despite the New York Times urging Democrats to press their advantage, Republicans aren’t gonna back down from opposing things like gun control and raising taxes.
As for Levin, he is going to be a regular contributor on Hannity, so I'm sure we'll hear plenty of outrage-mongering rants like this, re-posted by Fox Nation from Levin’s radio show of last Thursday:
“The Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated our government, it's called Barack Obama. No, he's not a formal member, he's a sympathizer….. What kind of commander-in-chief would nominate somebody like Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense? I'll tell you what kind of commander-in-chief, the kind of commander-in-chief that arms the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamonazi regime in Cairo while he's hallowing (hallowing?) out the greatest military force on the face of the earth under his direct command, the United States military. That's what kind of commander-in-chief [he is].
Levin does seem to have his admirers, though. Take this jaw-dropping bit of hero-worship, from a blogger called “Queen of Liberty,” which the Fox Nation somehow saw fit to re-post: “Mark Levin’s books about judicial activism, liberty and conservatism are eloquent, artistic, literary masterpieces that started an intellectual movement all across our nation…. Levin is a contemporary Shakespeare whose books should be left out on your desk like your Bible, dictionary, thesaurus or Constitution. They should be a reference that should be looked at time and time again if not daily.”
I am beyond words, gentle reader. Time to go to bed.
The Stop Hannity Express says Levin’s appearance on Hannocchio’s show is strictly a move to stop Hannocchio’s ratings from falling off the cliff. A little too late. Hannocchio is in for a very rude awakening, and he can’t do anything to stop it.
Coming down the pipe:
1. Fox “News” executives start to panic.
2. A certain group begins boycotts of Fox “News” Channel-and it’s not coming from liberals.
3. Ailes is forced into a unpleasant decision.
NOTE TO FOX “NEWS”
According to members of the Tea Party, you are part of the MSM and supporter of President Obama. And you know who it is.
Same as The old bozos.
Wont get Fooled again!
Where are they at now?
Also, where were their ratings during major events and debates? Certainly not #1 for large shares. Even events where conservative bias should have granted them a clear advantage, like Reagan’s funeral, they got beaten for 2/3 of the coverage.
Hence why they have to spin the argument with qualifiers.
As far as FOX’s ratings dropping, guess I’m not all that surprised. The country is not center-right like so many on FOX “news” keep saying and some viewers feel like the talking heads at FOX “news” duped them (lied to them -ahem, Dick Morris, etc.) during the run up to Election Day.
Btw, I noticed that FOX “news” is airing new commercials encouraging their viewers to DVR the shows if they can’t watch during the scheduled air time. The FOX “news” Insider webpage even has Faqs on how to use a DVR to record their shows. My guess is that FOX “news” is promoting this because there is also a system for network ratings (called Live Plus) that takes into account those who DVR television shows and, as more and more folks are using DVRs, this demographic is becoming important in the ratings (money) game. Looks like FOX is pushing the DVR angle as they need to make up for the lost ratings somewhere.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/tv-and-culture/dvr-viewings-tv-ratings1.htm
“These Live Plus ratings can make a big difference when a large portion of a show’s fans are watching on their DVRs. In 2007 when Live-Plus-Seven was starting to gain traction with networks, 23 percent of 18 to 49-year-olds watching “The Office” did so on their DVRs within a week of the first run. That’s a big ratings boost just from DVRs, and “The Office” isn’t the only show that’s benefitted from DVR ratings. A January 2011 episode of “Fringe” jumped an entire ratings point based only on Live-Plus-Three data."
We’ve been hearing about this supposed decline in FOXs ratings forever now. Ive even seen a poster on here make the claim that FOX has people turn their tvs on the FOX channel and leave it there so their ratings would be high (seriously, someone posted that).
The rankings I just looked at had FOX beating all the others pretty bad; in some cases their numbers are better than all the other channels combined. That’s called “winning”.
Don’t worry to much though, Greta. Levin is his own worst enemy when it comes to TV. He’s got a really short fuse which he’s constantly trying to light.
Ellen, Margherita, Priscilla, Aria and Brian certainly have stronger stomachs than I do and their dedication to the busting of Fox has been a great help in keeping up with the latest right-wing memes that invariably come up at the dinner table.
Giving thanks where thanks are due, I’m happy to thank FNC for continuing to make this community possible.
There’s no denying it- Ailes has never strayed from just filling the news slots with pretty female anchors, and the commentary with barnyard acts. It’s old- Many of the watchdogs are starting to wonder how much longer before it’s over.
