Kind of hard to feel sorry for any of the parties involved here:
Earlier this week, CNN executives contacted officials at the ratings agency Nielsen to raise questions about an advertisement run by their competitors at MSNBC.
At the top of the MSNBC print ad in question, big bold letters read: "MSNBC beat CNN in Primetime Q2." At the bottom of the page, a line reads: "Buy the Momentum." In between, the ad features the smiling mugs of three anchors, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, and Chris Matthews.
Nielsen reviews all print ads based on its data, including this one.
So what's the problem?
CNN was taking issue not with the text of the ad, which after all passed muster with the Nielsen folks. Rather, they were concerned about the ad's imagery, which was apparently not reviewed. Specifically, they were questioning the inclusion of Chris Matthews in MSNBC's prime-time victory dance.
Why?
Because,while Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow did score prime-time victories over CNN in the second quarter, Chris Matthews did not.(Although Mr. Matthews is a major part of MSNBC's brand, in terms of ratings, Hardball has topped CNN at 5 p.m. only a handful of months since the show's debut in 2005.)
A quick look at the second-quarter numbers:
From March 30 to June 28, at 5 p.m., CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer topped Hardball with Chris Matthews in both total viewers (816,000 to 529,000) and in the 25-54 demographic (178,000 to 131,000). Moreover, at 7 p.m., during the second quarter, CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight topped the repeat of Hardball with Chris Matthews, again, in both total viewers (769,000 to 674,000) and in the 25-54 demographic (222,000 to 189,000).
The inquiry comes immediately on the heels of an incident last week, reported in the L.A. Times, in which MSNBC and Fox News executives took issue with CNN ads claiming to be "No. 1, with more viewers than Fox and MSNBC." A spokesperson for MSNBC eventually referred to the CNN commercials as "fiction." MSNBC also registered their displeasure with Nielsen.
Kind of hard to feel sorry for any of the parties involved here:
Earlier this week, CNN executives contacted officials at the ratings agency Nielsen to raise questions about an advertisement run by their competitors at MSNBC.
At the top of the MSNBC print ad in question, big bold letters read: "MSNBC beat CNN in Primetime Q2." At the bottom of the page, a line reads: "Buy the Momentum." In between, the ad features the smiling mugs of three anchors, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, and Chris Matthews.
Nielsen reviews all print ads based on its data, including this one.
So what's the problem?
CNN was taking issue not with the text of the ad, which after all passed muster with the Nielsen folks. Rather, they were concerned about the ad's imagery, which was apparently not reviewed. Specifically, they were questioning the inclusion of Chris Matthews in MSNBC's prime-time victory dance.
Why?
Because,while Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow did score prime-time victories over CNN in the second quarter, Chris Matthews did not.(Although Mr. Matthews is a major part of MSNBC's brand, in terms of ratings, Hardball has topped CNN at 5 p.m. only a handful of months since the show's debut in 2005.)
A quick look at the second-quarter numbers:
From March 30 to June 28, at 5 p.m., CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer topped Hardball with Chris Matthews in both total viewers (816,000 to 529,000) and in the 25-54 demographic (178,000 to 131,000). Moreover, at 7 p.m., during the second quarter, CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight topped the repeat of Hardball with Chris Matthews, again, in both total viewers (769,000 to 674,000) and in the 25-54 demographic (222,000 to 189,000).
The inquiry comes immediately on the heels of an incident last week, reported in the L.A. Times, in which MSNBC and Fox News executives took issue with CNN ads claiming to be "No. 1, with more viewers than Fox and MSNBC." A spokesperson for MSNBC eventually referred to the CNN commercials as "fiction." MSNBC also registered their displeasure with Nielsen.
HYSMG, I was going to say the same thing! Every word!! LOL.
They are bickering with an underlying presumption that it is a zero-sum game. It is not. If they get serious with posting facts and preface their opinions as opinions prior to presenting them, and let us make up our mind on opinions I'd watch more MSM.. and they would ALL gain as I know there are a lot more people like me who have shut off MSM altogether.
Petty competition and bickering like this and giving us what are essentially all opinion channels -- that is what is causing the news media and our democracy both loose... and the heavy job of informed discussion gets left to the blogosphere.
-- Edited by Sanders on Sunday 26th of July 2009 05:31:03 AM
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Democracy needs defending - SOS Hillary Clinton, Sept 8, 2010 Democracy is more than just elections - SOS Hillary Clinton, Oct 28, 2010
HYSMG, I was going to say the same thing! Every word!! LOL.
They are bickering with an underlying presumption that it is a zero-sum game. It is not. If they get serious with posting facts and preface their opinions as opinions prior to presenting them, and let us make up our mind on opinions I'd watch more MSM.. and they would ALL gain as I know there are a lot more people like me who have shut off MSM altogether.
Petty competition and bickering like this and giving us what are essentially all opinion channels -- that is what is causing the news media and our democracy both loose... and the heavy job of informed discussion gets left to the blogosphere.
-- Edited by Sanders on Sunday 26th of July 2009 05:31:03 AM
Opinion channels is a very apt description of the 2 in question here.
__________________
Stand up for what is right, even if you're standing alone.
I've blocked both those channels on all of our TV's since Feb. of 2008 -- and we don't miss them one bit. Boycott MSNBC and CNN until they change their sexist and ultra liberal bias ways. I hope they both destroy each other and clear the airwaves for real journalism to reign again.
-- Edited by thebword on Sunday 26th of July 2009 05:09:25 PM