The Drudge Report typically posts evening cable news ratings. Here are today’s:
FOXNEWS HANNITY/PALIN 4,200,000
FOXNEWS O’REILLY 3,868,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,512,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,383,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,235,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,980,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,041,000
CNNHN GRACE 1,036,000
MSNBC MADDOW 957,000
CNN KING 835,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 625,000
CNN COOPER 611,000
That’s a pretty striking pattern, even adjusting for the Palin effect. Not only are the FOX guys on top, but the more conservative FOX guys (Hannity, O’Reilly, Beck) are higher than than the moderate FOX guys. The disparities are huge. So why can’t liberals have that sort of success on cable television. This is obviously a huge question, but here’s one reason that seems likely to me: The liberals already have their ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and CNN, plus their New York Times and probably the local paper wherever they live.
While none of those outlets are as liberal as MSNBC, there are still many more options for liberal TV-watchers to watch ideologically compatible television. FOX does so well because conservatives needed a special home on TV. Building a special home in the media for liberals is like founding the National Association for the Advance of White People.
