Recently, Elon Musk claimed that “CNN is dying” amid a disagreement on social media with former CNN host Don Lemon. Musk’s comments have drawn attention to the network’s performance, which has recently struggled to attract viewership.
Over the past several years, CNN has faced numerous struggles, embattled in scandalous controversies, constant leadership changeups, mass firings, plummeting ratings, and more. Last year, the left-leaning network even had its worst ratings in many categories going back over three decades. CNN averaged only 582,000 primetime viewers, ranking No. 12 among cable networks, capturing a smaller audience than other networks such as TLC, Hallmark, and HGTV.
American financier and investor Porter Bibb explained CNN’s main competition as social media app TikTok. “The challenge CNN and its competitors face, however, is that TikTok, with 170 million daily visitors, has become the dominant source of news for people under 30. Mark Thompson hopes to change that by redesigning CNN as a 24-hour non-stop source of breaking news on mobile phones,” Bibb explained to Fox News Digital.
DePauw University journalism professor Jeffrey McCall offered criticism of CNN that seemed to align with Musk’s opinions of the network. McCall claimed that CNN has an issue with its branding, where it intends to be viewed as moderate and centrist. However, this does not align with the reality of its apparent left-leaning bias.
“The once proud cable news channel is struggling on several fronts. The ratings at CNN are quite low — historically low. But the problems go beyond that. Cord cutting is hurting many cable channels, of course, but a channel named Cable News Network certainly has a branding issue in the internet world,” McCall said. “CNN’s main problem is that it pretends to be above the partisan fray and portrays itself as a centrist news outlet. But even casual viewers can easily sense its left-leaning approach.”
Furthermore, the professor noted that upon losing its credibility and reputation with the public, it can be very difficult for a network to recover. “Once a news outlet loses credibility and relevance, it is very hard to earn it back, particularly in the digital era when there are so many outlets striving for the audience’s attention,” McCall added. “Thus, CNN might not really disappear from the media landscape, but in terms of relevance, it probably is dying.”
The American Tribune reported on the recent spat between Elon Musk and Don Lemon, which started when X canceled a partnership with Lemon’s show shortly after the debut episode was filmed. “Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform. He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday. That interview will remain the premiere episode of The Don Lemon Show on Monday, March 18,” Don Lemon wrote in a statement on X.
However, Musk hit back, offering his side of the story, asserting that Lemon lacked “authenticity.” The billionaire claimed the former CNN anchor was essentially bringing the network to X, something Musk disagreed with.
“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.” He added, “And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.”
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