Is The Fox News Era Over?
Eric Boehlert predicts that Fox News is basically fucked. While the liberal Media Matters senior fellow's job is to criticize and decry Fox News, that network's continued relevence will ensure that he keeps that job. So it is presumably with both glee and secret dismay that Boehlert presents a portrait of an epochal force in news presentation on its sad decline.
In 2004, Fox' coverage of the New Hampshire primary—a purely Democratic affair, as no one dared challenge the president for his nomination—beat CNN's by 200,000 viewers. In the last New Hampshire primary, heavily contested by both parties, CNN prevailed over Fox by nearly 250,000 viewers. That's one anecdotal story (and Fox's coverage of the GOP South Carolina primary slightly beat CNN's), but maybe it's part of a trend? Boehlert has a damning list of reasons for Roger Ailes to be worried!
Some of them are astute (Fox staked a lot on Rudy Giuliani's campaign, the Dem candidates are largely boycotting the network, the Fox Business Network is a hilarious failure), and some of them are not (Ron Paul? Seriously?).
But is any of this seriously any reason at all to celebrate anything? The resurgence of CNN? On the backs of Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck? With Larry King still unexpectedly appearing to comfort the elderly and terrify children each and every night?
Or hey, maybe MSNBC—with Russert and Matthews, the blowhardiest of all pundits, at their disposal—will finally find its voice. Regardless of how it all turns out, we'll continue receiving precisely the quality of political coverage that we deserve.
