Why Does CNN Exist?

In wake of the news that a CNN producer was arrested for raping children as young as nine years old, I have to ask: Why does CNN even exist in 2021?

They’ve been below the 1 million viewer threshold for some time. Fox News had 71 of the top 100 most viewed cable shows. CNN had zero.

Tucker Carlson’s 8 p.m. show led Fox’s lineup with a dominant 3,667,000 total average viewers and 651,000 average viewers in the key 25-54 demographic. Fox News noted in the release that Tucker’s Kyle Rittenhouse interview drew big ratings, helping to propel the program to the number one spot for November.

After a strong October, Fox’s The Five scored second place in the cable news ratings averaging a total of 3.51 million viewers in the month of November and 557,000 average viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic.

Sean Hannity placed third for November, averaging 3.23 million total viewers, with 541,000 average viewers in the demo.

Fox beat CNN by 294% in primetime viewers and 184% in the demo during prime time. Fox also topped MSNBC by 136% in primetime total viewers and 200% within the demo during prime time.

How many advertisers will continue ponying up ad money for less than a million viewers? (Insert your own “Depends” joke here.)

(Aside: One company that sponsors a lot of CNN and other news shows: Pfizer.)

Given how many CNN hosts slandered Kyle Rittenhouse as a “white supremacist” without proof, I would expect Rittenhouse to file (and win) a very costly slander and defamation lawsuit against them. Also, Alan Dershowitz thinks that Chris Cuomo (speaking of scumbags) could very well win his lawsuit over the remainder of his $18 million contract after his firing.

You know who else thinks CNN has big problems? New CNN owner John Malone.

Liberal CNN needs “actual journalists,” billionaire media mogul John Malone told CNBC in an interview in which he explained there is a place for the news channel in the proposed $43 billion combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery into a new entity Warner Bros. Discovery.

“I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing,” said Malone, who is longtime chairman of Liberty Media, which is a major shareholder in Discovery and will be the controlling partner of the new media combination.

Which makes it all the more puzzling that Chris Wallace is leaving Fox to go to CNN+. Nothing says “success” quite like shedding 75% of your audience size. Granted, the move probably improves both Fox and CNN, but still amounts to shuffling deck chairs on the Lusitania.

No, retreads aren’t the answer. This situation calls for a clean sweep.

I’m not saying fire everyone.

Maybe you can keep the technical staff.

On-air talent? Gone.

Producers? Gone.

HR? Gone.

Writers? Gone.

Managers? Gone.

Executives? Gone.

Hell, the current taint on CNN is so bad that maybe you standup an entirely new studio with new talent at a different location and go on from there.

But being a modern, civilized man, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that razing the current CNN building and sowing the earth with salt should be optional…

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11 Responses to “Why Does CNN Exist?”

  1. David Foster says:

    Does the tolerance of CNN’s poor performance reflect an alignment with the perceived corporate interests of its current owner, AT&T?

  2. Brother Tim has nothing much to say, lately says:

    Turn the CNN headquarters into low-income housing. It would be the most useful it’s been in 30 years and the character of those within it wouldn’t even change that much.

  3. Thomas L Spinks says:

    Perhaps we should stop talking about CNN on the blogosphere. The highest level of contempt is ignoring your opponent altogether. CNN has millions of more views of the poison they spew from right wing blogs than they have viewers. I get it, it is correct to point out their stupidity, lies and lack of integrity but perhaps we are just giving them an alternative platform. Utterly ignoring them may hasten their financial implosion. Just saying.

  4. Arty says:

    First cable news network. That’s why they still have less than a million viewers.

  5. Joshua K. says:

    Chris Wallace isn’t going to the main CNN network. He’s going to CNN+, their forthcoming streaming service. I guess that’s for CNN fans who can’t get enough of the network on basic cable and want to pay for even more CNN.

  6. Strelnikov says:

    CNN exists to collect cable network fees. That’s how they pay morons like Cuomo millions to work 2 hours per day, five days a week. Lack of viewers does not impact these fees.

  7. MnemonicMike says:

    CNN knows it’s in trouble and they probably offered Chris Wallace an extraordinary salary, in their attempt to become relevant again.

  8. James Jones says:

    Fire everyone but technical staff, change the name, then pay James Earl Jones whatever he wants to say “This is not CNN”.

  9. Rdm says:

    Not optional. Optimal.

  10. Jeff H says:

    Why does CNN exist?

    First guess, as a tax write-off.

  11. Stephen St. Onge says:

            CNN is in sad shape in the U.S., but I understand it is very big overseas, especially the Third World.

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