Yesterday many blogs took MSNBC and CNN to task for using crude oral sex jokes to refer to the tea party protests. The idea that a major media network would do this was unthinkable just a little while ago.
Now today hot air complains about Janine Garofalo appearance on Olberman.
These complaints are irrelevant, as are the ratings numbers. I think that MSNBC has made a business decision and is sticking with it.
I think that MSNBC believes that it would take too much time effort and money to overcome Fox’s lead. If a new personality manages to get a following then they will give them a shot but that’s it.
By catering to the far left they have a ready made audience base that if not a majority is solid. We are talking real true believers. The only attempt they are making to get any kind of non-liberal base is in the morning drive and even then you might notice the most conservative segment always seems to be a 6 a.m. hour.
It doesn’t mean MSNBC will not make a profit it just means it won’t make as much as fox. Long John Silvers doesn’t make the money that McDonald’s does but they make a living and a profit. Their primary customer base is fish based. It is not as large a base as a burger based one but it is a profitable customer base.
Fox is right leaning although it will give some voice to the left to play off of. Their willingness to give that alternate voice a shot and their respect for religion is the reason why they will always outperform CNN and MSNBC. (I think the decision to go full Hannity is a mistake.)
This actually puts the squeeze on CNN. They have always leaned left but are not as unabashedly left wing as MSNBC. That means the “true believers” on the left won’t choose them over MSNBC and the people on the right like myself don’t trust them. The arguement that most people are in the center may or may not be true, but even if it is true that center aren’t news junkies. News junkies have beliefs and opinions. The moderate center would rather watch something else.
So that leaves CNN with the people who believe the “Fox is evil” hybe but are not far left enough for MSNBC. That also include the people who have watched CNN for decades (they were first you know) and watch it out of habit. That is not a growing market.
So we can get angry at MSNBC it won’t matter. This is their business decision that is where their profit comes from.
Our anger will just increase their ratings. The people who would get offended have already left.
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