In the aftermath of President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the 2024 presidential election, legacy media outlets have seen an enormous drop in ratings. Some have argued that in the wake of Trump’s win, which defied mainstream media’s narrative, the American people have turned their backs on such outlets and are turning elsewhere.
According to a recent report, Fox News garnered 73 percent of primetime cable news, including 71 percent of the key advertising demographic between the ages of 25-54, while other left-leaning networks such as MSNBC and CNN saw a massive decline. The conservative outlet averaged 3.2 million total primetime viewers, representing a 34 percent increase from before the election. Fox News also had 417,000 viewers in the key advertising demographic, a 46 percent increase from before Trump’s win.
In contrast, CNN only averaged 469,000 total primetime viewers, equating to a 35 percent decline from its pre-election statistics. Moreover, the outlet saw a 36 percent decline in the key ad demographic only attaining 99,000 viewers.
Looking at MSNBC, the situation was far worse, with larger declines observed. The network saw a substantial 47 percent decline in total viewers, bringing in 702,000 following the election. Furthermore, the outlet only earned 69,000 viewers in the key demographic range, nearly half of what it had prior to the election.
The American Tribune reported on post-election commentary from independent media sources who weighed in on the massive ratings decline among legacy media networks such as MSNBC. Conservative commentator Sean Spicer rattled off troubling statistics for a slew of left-wing media pundits who have seen their ratings collapse while making a broader point on the distrust Americans now have toward the mainstream media.
“This is out just a little while ago, the ratings for MSNBC,” Spicer said. “Morning Joe down 39.6, Andrea Mitchell down 39.7, Ari Melber down 49.6, Joy Reid down 54.6, all in the last week. Lawrence O’Donnell down 60.6, Stephanie Ruhle, the big winner, down 67 percent in ratings.” Spicer extrapolated from the data, “They lost the trust of the American people.”
He continued, “I mean, Chris Wallace, this morning announced that he’s leaving CNN to go to a platform. The thing is, you know, my view, I get, I’ve been asked, probably by about 10 to 12 reporters in the last 48 to 72 hours, how did we miss this again?” Spicer pointed out, “And I said we didn’t. You did. And I mean, and I say this respectfully, but I was just like, look, here are the guests that we’ve had on.”
Journalist Mark Halperin weighed in , “The very same executives and producers, anchors and correspondence and writers who covered and participated in the cover-up of the Biden decline, and then after the decline had to be exposed and acknowledged, never acknowledged their role in it. All those people are covering the Trump administration, they also covered the campaign. I don’t understand how they think that they can cover the Trump campaign fairly, or Trump administration fairly, or be seen as covering the Trump administration fairly.” He added, “If they don’t acknowledge their role in the conspiracy and their failure to acknowledge it…. just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Watch the conversation below:
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