Monday, June 06, 2005
NBC (Nothing But Crap)
This morning, like every morning, I returned from my morning bike ride and turned on the Today show. I'm not sure why, but I'm always amused to see what the mainsteam media is blathering about. (Naturally, I take everything they say with the requisite grain of salt and then I go check the blogs like dKos and Eschaton for the real news.) Today, I returned at 7:06 am, just as my local channel was covering the weather, so I know I didn't miss anything but Ann Curry's short little news headlines and Al Roker's bad jokes. From that time to until I got in the shower @ 8:00, the stories covered by Matt and Katie were as follows:
Is it just me or is there nothing really newsworthy in any of this? The missing girl in Aruba is the closest thing to actual news, but it's more of a local story than a national one. And the rest? It's all gossip! It's the type of shit best left to The National Enquirer and People magazine. So it really comes as no surprise when I see stuff like this (via Atrios):
Of course I realize that the Today show isn't on MSNBC, but it's all the same parent company. Maybe if their "news shows" actually covered some "freakin' news," they wouldn't be getting their asses kicked in the ratings. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few things they should be discussing. Like maybe coingate, the "terrorist" victory in Lebanon's elections, the Downing Street Memo, etc., etc., etc.
But hey, that's just me.
- Missing Alabama student in Aruba
- Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields are having a spat
- Ann Curry's exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie (naturally they discussed Brad & Jen)
- Michael Jackson was admitted to the hospital again
- Runaway bride pleads no contest in court
Is it just me or is there nothing really newsworthy in any of this? The missing girl in Aruba is the closest thing to actual news, but it's more of a local story than a national one. And the rest? It's all gossip! It's the type of shit best left to The National Enquirer and People magazine. So it really comes as no surprise when I see stuff like this (via Atrios):
- Friday Ratings: Raw Numbers
Total viewers:
Total day: FNC: 869,000 / CNN: 352,000 / MSNBC: 186,000
Primetime: FNC: 1,758,000 / CNN: 721,000 / MSNBC: 306,000
25-54 demographic:
Total day: FNC: 304,000 / CNN: 98,000 / MSNBC: 76,000
Primetime: FNC: 416,000 / CNN: 150,000 / MSNBC: 129,000
Total viewers for individual shows:
7pm: Shep: 1,113,000 / Cooper: 425,000 / Hardball: 296,000
8pm: O'Reilly: 2,114,000 / Zahn: 425,000 / Countdown: 280,000
9pm H&C: 1,625,000 / King: 1,210,000 / MSNBC 9pm: 359,000
10pm: Greta: 1,536,000 / NewsNight: 530,000 / Scarborough: 278,000 / Deutsch: 66,000 (scratch)
25-54 demographic for individual shows:
7pm: Shep: 350,000 / Cooper: 135,000 / Hardball: 92,000
8pm: O'Reilly: 457,000 / Zahn: 105,000 / Countdown: 136,000
9pm: H&C: 397,000 / King: 206,000 / MSNBC 9pm: 176,000
10pm: Greta: 394,000 / NewsNight: 139,000 / Scarborough: 75,000 / Deutsch: 33,000 (scratch)
Of course I realize that the Today show isn't on MSNBC, but it's all the same parent company. Maybe if their "news shows" actually covered some "freakin' news," they wouldn't be getting their asses kicked in the ratings. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few things they should be discussing. Like maybe coingate, the "terrorist" victory in Lebanon's elections, the Downing Street Memo, etc., etc., etc.
But hey, that's just me.
