Monday, September 25, 2006
Cable Ranting = Ratings
Surprised? Not really. It's why Bill O'reilly gets the numbers he gets every night. I am talking about RANTING! USA Today's Peter Johnson writes about it:
"On cable news, objectivity works well during the day.
But as the sun begins to set, programmers have learned that viewers like some edge. And ranting helps.
Fox News Channel was first to tap into this a decade ago when Bill O'Reilly began to sound off about his pet peeves. He is now the most popular talk-show host on cable.
Others have since joined in, and their ratings have increased.
Lou Dobbs, CNN's formerly staid business news anchor, has been railing against illegal immigration for three years.
On Headline News, former prosecutor Nancy Grace goes after defense attorneys as a self-styled crime-victims advocate.
And at MSNBC, Keith Olbermann lately has begun sounding off on the Bush administration.
"People want more than just the headlines and facts. They want to know what the news means to them, why they should care and what they should think about it," says Auburn University journalism professor Dale Harrison." MORE
"On cable news, objectivity works well during the day.
But as the sun begins to set, programmers have learned that viewers like some edge. And ranting helps.
Fox News Channel was first to tap into this a decade ago when Bill O'Reilly began to sound off about his pet peeves. He is now the most popular talk-show host on cable.
Others have since joined in, and their ratings have increased.
Lou Dobbs, CNN's formerly staid business news anchor, has been railing against illegal immigration for three years.
On Headline News, former prosecutor Nancy Grace goes after defense attorneys as a self-styled crime-victims advocate.
And at MSNBC, Keith Olbermann lately has begun sounding off on the Bush administration.
"People want more than just the headlines and facts. They want to know what the news means to them, why they should care and what they should think about it," says Auburn University journalism professor Dale Harrison." MORE
# posted by ATN @ 11:24 AM 
