AGHHH!!! Why do I even bother with cable news anymore?

[Robin Hood]

I just woke up this gray Sunday morning, stumbled to my computer and turned on the TV to see what was going on in the world. I turned on CNN and there was a round table of people talking about Richard Clarke. I sipped my strong coffee and started off my Sunday morning in a fit of rage.

I don't know who these Republican operatives posing as independent thinkers were, but these people were absolutely misinformed or just out right lying. One guy said that Bush could have quelled this whole Clarke controversy not by attacking Clarke personally but by admitting that he didn't do anything because who could have predicted that terrorists would hit us that way, no one was prepared for 9/11.

At this point I begin cursing at the computer monitor, "You $&%*@#*&#$%@#$%&*%^, That is the whole point!!! If Bush had paid attention to Clinton's laundry list of issues when he took office, 9/11 could have been prevented. If he had listened to Clarke and the rest of the intelligence community, 9/11 could have been prevented. IF he wasn't a retarded backwater stupid son of a bitch that's stuck in the 80's, 9/11 could have been prevented.

And then another guy says that he saw through Clarke's story when Clarke said that Clinton was a true anti terror warrior. At this point I click off the TV, take a deep breath and remind myself that all the cable channels are Republican mouth pieces, and what exactly did I expect to hear from these lying mother %#@&*^s

I then remembered that I don't have to listen or watch theses lies anymore. I go to my favorites folder and click on http://www.super62.com/listen/index.php Portland's new progressive radio station KPOJ/Air America. Ahhhhh, Peace and sanity restored to the Guerrilla household as I/We listen to an encore presentation of the Randi Rhodes show.

Soon, I will be going to the local Methodist Church. Good morning DU.

[asjr]

1. I felt the same way.

I wish there was some way to take down CNN. They are nothing but a PAC for the Republican party. I detest all of them, especially Crowley and Blitzer. Blitzer will not let a Democrat get a say in and he is a certified Bush apologist. They stink!

[NightHawk63]

2. I totally agree LG

I've gone totally cable news free for a few months now. Fox News is on my channel block and I only pause on CNN if I see sports scores. Even then, I have to go to ESPN to verify them.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi NightHawk63!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Mikimouse]

3. Hi! My name is Mimimouse and I'm a newsaholic...

and I have been clean and cable free for 2 years.

[AnnInLa]

4. Don Imus supports Kerry??? Right.

Well, I still turn on CNN each morning when I first get up to see what happened during the night. But, then I discovered Don Imus on MSNBC, and watched that for a few months. Then, got fed up with him, and wonder if anyone else shares my views of Imus in the Morning? Does he seem really totally full of himself to you? I have never heard such ego-driven crap in my life. He says everyday that he has "endorsed" John Kerry, but then runs down everything Kerry says and does. Have never heard him say anything positive about Kerry. I sure wish he didn't "endorse" Kerry! His critical thinking skills seem to be akin to those of a third-grader. I continued listening to him because, occasionally, I enjoyed the call-ins from other "news-media personalities." But, those too, seem rather simple-minded. Am SO glad that Air America is finally on the air, even though I have to use that crappy Real Player.

[Robin Hood]

8. I stumbled on to Imus when he happened to endorse kerry.

I was thrown off because i thought that he was a right wing jack ass schill. I have watched him since then but quit when after Clarke gave his 60 minutes interview Imus was all over Clarke, bashing him the next morning, showing his true loyalties and exactly what he was up to with his endorsement of kerry.

Imus is the self centered right wing schill that I have heard him to be.

[teach1st]

5. I decided to kick cable news yesterday...

...my heart feels better already.

[Oilwellian]

6. Maybe this will make you feel better

I liken cable news to the tabloid newspapers staring at you in the grocery store line. When you look at the number of people who actually watch it, it's no big deal. :D

EXCLUSIVE: Detailed Cable News Ratings Data

Q1 Ratings: Nets Show Decline From War-Boosted '03 Stats
First quarter cable news ratings show a steep decline from last year's war-buoyed numbers, and demonstrate the significance of viewer loyalty during lulls between major news cycles. This chart compares '03 and '04. In total day, FOX lost 36%, MSNBC dropped 49%, and CNN went down by 52% in viewers 2+. The decreases were similar in primetime. FOX still dominates the chart, with an average 1.2 primetime rating, compared to 0.7 for CNN and 0.3 for MSNBC. The data broken down by age brackets is especially interesting.
Q1: 03/04 Comparison Chart (PDF) 1:46:25 PM


Q1 Ratings: FOX Tops The Chart; MSNBC Prime Holds Turf
Cable news ratings data for the first quarter of 2004 demonstrates a clear dominance by FOX. O'Reilly characteristically tops the chart at a 1.9, with H&C, Shep, Larry King, and Brit Hume rounding out the top five. Eleven of the top twelve shows air on FOX. Notably, CNN's taped People in the News shows register a 0.6 average, placing it in the #16 spot for Q1, and making it CNN's fifth most popular program. On MSNBC, Hardball and Joe average a 0.4, Countdown comes in at 0.3, and Debbie manages a 0.2. Scarborough is the channel's most popular show; on the chart, it is listed as 'Investigates.'
Q1: Ratings For Each Cable News Program (PDF) 1:44:46 PM


Q1 Ratings: CNBC, Tech Summit Among Bottom-Feeders
The chart of cable show ratings indicates a challenge for NBC's cable networks. The bottom of the chart -- the very very bottom -- is interesting. MSNBC's Tech Summit barely registered on the chart, scoring a 0.1 and 51,000 viewers, despite intense promotion. The vast majority of CNBC's programming averages a 0.1 -- but keep in mind that the ratings don't include viewers at work. Tina's Topic A is pulling in an average of 91,000 viewers. Dennis Miller is averaging a 0.2 and 209,000 viewers. MSNBC Live is low on the list, averaging only a 0.2 during the day... 1:42:28 PM


Q1 Ratings: "CNN Loses More Than Half of 1Q'03 Audience"
FOX put a press release on the Biz Wire this afternoon pointing out its first quarter ratings victories. The channel "saw only a 36% decrease in its audience from 1Q'03, while its nearest competitor, CNN, had more than half its audience disappear, according to Nielsen Media Research," it says... 1:42:21 PM

http://www.cablenewser.com/archive/2004_03_01_archive.htm

I also should add FAIR's response to the cable news wars:

So what are the media reports talking about? With few exceptions, stories about the media business report a single number for ratings (often expressed two different ways--as "points" or "share"). This number is often presented as if it were the result of a popularity contest or a democratic vote. But it is actually the average number of viewers watching a station or a show in a typical minute, based on Nielsen Media Research's monitoring of thousands of households.

The average is arrived at by counting viewers every minute. Heavy viewers--those who tune in to a station and linger there--have a greater impact, as they can be counted multiple times as they watch throughout the day.

When an outlet reports that CNN is trailing Fox, they are almost invariably using this average tally, which Fox has been winning for the past two years. For the year 2003, Nielsen's average daily ratings show Fox beating CNN 1.02 million viewers to 665,000.

But there is another important number collected by Nielsen (though only made available to the firm's clients) that tells another story. This is the "cume," the cumulative total number of viewers who watch a channel for at least six minutes during a given day. Unlike the average ratings number the media usually report, this number gives the same weight to the light viewer, who tunes in for a brief time, as it does to the heavy viewer.

How can CNN have more total viewers when Fox has such a commanding lead in average viewers? Conventional industry wisdom is that CNN viewers tune in briefly to catch up on news and headlines, while Fox viewers watch longer for the opinion and personality-driven programming. Because the smaller total number of Fox viewers are watching more hours, they show up in the ratings as a higher average number of viewers.

<more>
http://www.fair.org/extra/0404/fox-ratings.html

[Robin Hood]

10. All hype no cattle.

Thanks for posting that. It looks like the apathy of America may not necessarily be a bad thing.

[calimary]

13. Even so, they need to hear how you think. They're only hearing from

the WRONG-wing as it is.

(FROM DUer bigtree – 3/2004) Use the responses to strike back at the attacks, here and elsewhere.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml - go to the bottom of the page and click on "feedback" and you're in.

***********ALSO NOTE: www.takebackthemedia.com – for the most comprehensive, extensive list of media contacts. ****************************************
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
301 7th Street, SW
Room 5125
Washington, DC 20407

Washington Office*
Tel: [phone]
Fax It is vital to get these criminals under oath.
: [phone]

email: [e-mail]
AL FELZENBERG, DEPUTY FOR COMMUNICATIONS National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

Office: 202-401-1725 Cell: 202-236-4878 Fax: [phone]"

[e-mail]

And don't forget your reps in Congress:

www.senate.gov

http://www.house.gov/writerep/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And finally , PLEASE NOTE MY SIG LINE – TO CALL YOUR REPS, TOLL FREE!!!

[Beam Me Up]

7. TV: TURN IT OFF AND KEEP IT OFF

Seriously.

Kick the habit.

It is an addiction to mind manipulation. Why would you willingly allow other people with vested interests in the outcome tell you WHAT you should think about and HOW you should think or feel about it? They use TV to DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION and thereby manipulate your thoughts and feelings--your perception of what is real about yourself and your world. This is regardless of whether we are talking "news" or "entertainment" or COMMERCIALS. It is one total package of deception.

You want to change the world? STOP BUYING MADISON AVENUE'S "REALITY". They're sucking out your life force and selling an insipid substitute of it back to you for a profit.

"Death to the fascist insect that feeds upon the life of the people!"

[Rhapsody1]

9. Original Message

FAUX News is the worst. Fair and balanced my ass...Hannity, O'Reilly? What a joke.

http://www.readybb.com/conservative/index.php

A fun site to screw with some right wing nutbags. LOL

[newyawker99]

15. Hi Rhapsody1!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[davekriss]

11. I avoid the TV as much as possible...

...especially with the upcoming election.

I had a brief addiction to cable news on 9-11 and a short while afterward. On 9-11 and the days that followed, after escaping NYC (I was on my way to the airport), I watched CNN et alia all day, watching the towers fall over and over again. Then a CNN newsreader announced that "they hate us for our freedoms" -- I was outraged that anyone would proffer such nonsense.

Then turn to Scott Ritter making his case as to why he believed Iraq had no (significant) WMD. As soon as they cut, Paula Zahn remarked that the man must be "drinking Saddam's Koolaid". She dismissed the man's reasoned argument by claiming "he was on drugs" -- therefore not to be believed or even paid attention to. Such is the treatment of dissent in the major media.

By parading one or two dissenting voices across the tube -- all the while diminishing their credibility by sprinkling their brief appearance with ad hominem remarks -- one does not create the environment of informed debate inspired by a Jefferson. Especially when you follow the one derisively isolated voice by ten fellows from the American Enterprise Institute. That is not informed debate.

With that, I quit cold-turkey and only turn on the tube to watch a movie or catch a weather forecast.

Now that Bush is spending on commercials, too, I highly recommend that many of us avoid the TV (stick to the internet). Otherwise invest in lots of paper towels to clean up the mess we make after getting sick.

Turn off the TV's!!!

[NMDemDist2]

12. some good things to watch along with C-Span

for those of you with DishNetwork check out LinkTV on channel 9410 or their website http://linktv.org

Also FSTV on channel 9415 or on the web http://www.freespeech.org/fsitv/fscm2/genx.php?name=home

both websites will tell you which city's also carry them on the "community access" channels