By Michael Snyder
Ratings at CNN, MSNBC and Fox News have all been plummeting in recent years, and newspaper ad revenues are about a third of what they were back in the year 2000. So is the mainstream media dying? Despite what you may have heard, the mainstream media is certainly not completely dead just yet. The average American watches approximately 153 hours of television a month, and as I pointed out in a previous article, about 90 percent of the "information" that is endlessly pumped into our heads through our televisions is controlled by just six gigantic media corporations. However, there are a whole host of signs that things are changing - especially when it comes to news. More Americans than ever are losing faith in the establishment-controlled media and are seeking out alternative sources of information. Is this a trend that the big media companies are going to be able to reverse at some point?
For years, the "news business" has been dominated by CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. But now all three channels are rapidly losing viewers. According to a recently released Pew Research study, the number of prime time viewers for all three networks combined fell by 11 percent last year...
POLL: Is the internet destroying the power of the Mainstream Media?
In 2013, the cable news audience, by nearly all measures, declined. The combined median prime-time viewership of the three major news channels—CNN, Fox News and MSNBC—dropped 11% to about 3 million, the smallest it has been since 2007. The Nielsen Media Research data show that the biggest decline came at MSNBC, which lost nearly a quarter (24%) of its prime-time audience. CNN, under new management, ended its fourth year in third place, with a 13% decline in prime time. Fox, while down 6%, still drew more viewers (1.75 million) than its two competitors combined (619,500 at MSNBC and 543,000 at CNN).
And the decline is far more dramatic when you look at just the key 25 to 54-year-old demographic.
From November 2012 to November 2013, CNN's ratings for that demographic dropped by a staggering 59 percent, and MSNBC's ratings for that demographic dropped by a staggering 52 percent.
Is this a sign that Americans are finally getting fed up with the endless propaganda being spewed by those establishment mouthpieces?
A recent survey conducted by a liberal polling firm would indeed seem to indicate that this is the case. That survey found that only 6 percent of Americans consider MSNBC to be their most trusted source for news...
NBC News and sister cable network MSNBC rank at the bottom of media outlets Americans trust most for news, with Fox News leading the way, according to a new poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.
In its fifth trust poll, 35 percent said they trusted Fox news more than any other outlet, followed by PBS at 14 percent, ABC at 11 percent, CNN at 10 percent, CBS at 9 percent, 6 percent for MSNBC and Comedy Central, and just 3 percent for NBC
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And of course it is not just the big mainstream news networks that are in decline
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A recently released Pew Research study discovered that the decline of America's newspapers continued in 2013 as well...
The Newspaper Association of America has stopped compiling quarterly reports on advertising revenue. According to its annual numbers, which were released in April 2014, overall revenue for newspapers in 2013 was $37.6 billion, a decrease of 2.6% from 2012. Within that total, combined print and digital ad revenue decreased by 7%—to $20.7 billion.
Seven percent may not sound like much, but you have to realize that these declines have been happening year after year. When you look back over a longer time frame, it really puts the massive decline that we have witnessed in advertising revenues in perspective...
It took a half century for annual newspaper print ad revenue to gradually increase from $20 billion in 1950 (adjusted for inflation in 2013 dollars) to $65.8 billion in 2000, and then it took only 12 years to go from $65.8 billion in ad revenues back to less than $20 billion in 2012, before falling further to $17.3 billion last year.
Even when revenues from digital advertising and other categories described by the NAA as “niche publications, direct marketing and non-daily publication advertising” are added to print ad revenue (see red line in chart), the combined total revenues for print, digital and other advertising last year was still only $23.56 billion in 2013 dollars, which was the lowest amount of annual ad revenue since 1954, when $23.3 billion was spent on print advertising alone.
Yes, you read those numbers correctly. As you can see from this chart, newspaper ad revenues are now about a third of what they were back in the year 2000. That is not just a "shift" - that is a massive tsunami.
Needless to say, the big newspapers are quite distressed by all of this.
For example, "the Grey Lady" herself is essentially in a state of panic at this point. Just recently, a 96 page internal New York Times report was obtained by BuzzFeed that basically skewers the company's current strategy when it comes to the Internet...
A 96-page internal New York Times report, sent to top executives last month by a committee led by the publisher’s son and obtained by BuzzFeed, paints a dark picture of a newsroom struggling more dramatically than is immediately visible to adjust to the digital world, a newsroom that is hampered primarily by its own storied culture. But they still don't understand the true cause of their decline.
It isn't the fact that they haven't adapted to the Internet very well that is the primary reason for their decline.
Rather, it is the fact that the American people are losing faith in the New York Times and other similar establishment mouthpieces.
read more at:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/is-the-mainstream-media-dying
Comments
Eugene, Fox News is basically a Conservative News but some commentators have made some big mistakes. Just recently we note Glenn Beck did not support the protestors for Bundy. Want to bet it was his bad American History books? We should remember the song, "This land is your land, this land is my land!" It was never really any governments! State or Federal are there to keep it up and not to control it! This was the main basis of anger from many of us about the Bundy ranch and Feds overstepping their authority! But I had American History in the late 50's and early 60's! Suddenly, we see the gay thing being removed, as example, that shows nations that conformed to these things either self-destruct or loose a war! Putin knows this, but Americans do not. It was twisted in our History books to blame other things! When Americans start supporting honor and integrity and self-responsibility we can turn this around, but with the radical left/Marxist media, what chance of it?
One more point about the media! I note and we all should that if a Network is suggested and proven to be mostly Conservative they better not make one mistake, some even in the Tea Party are all over them! They have enough problems fighting Marxism and the lies in Liberal media!
The "Mainstream Media" is firmly controlled by the" Mainstream Marxists" who have been stealthily placed into key positions of American society such as Academia, Politics, Labor Unions, the Judiciary, Religious Orders, Hollywood, TV and other such "American" organizations. Just read Sol Alinsky's books on "Revolution" and you will find instructions on how to destroy America by controlling our infrastructure. So the mainstream Media while seemingly falling apart before our very eyes, they are NOT . They are merely changing gears to keep up with the times. Americans are just too DUMB to understand it.
Back in 2000, you could still buy the Los Angeles Times for just 25 cents.
Back in 2000, the National Debt was just 5.5 trillion instead of 17.5 trillion.
Sometimes, I wonder if there's any kind of connection.
Hopefully a long and PAINFUL DEATH !!!!!!!!!1
I stopped watching the media blat years ago RIP losers
Big business MSM lost most of its shares to al jazeera during carter and the remainder shares went to pravda not long after Reagan ...the only thing that stayed same is their label, not unlike republicans and RINO's, and all about as transparent as what's its name's existence on earth.
I do not see why reporting what others will not should decrease those watching? I remember back when Bill Clinton committed the ultimate treason and all media, except Fox dropped reporting on it. They had experts on the subject! What was this treason? He gave our missile guidance technologies to Communist China! The left media would NOT follow it up! Fox had experts on that same week. What did this mean? It meant that instead of hitting an American city within 300 miles they now could hit them within 50 miles! What was the followup by Liberal news? They told America it was for space exploration; want to buy a bridge?
Obama is not just a full supporting Marxist but also, like Bill and Hilary, got funds from the Muslim! Obama's directives have not just supported the Mexican Drug Cartel for payback to the International Mob, but made deals using the CIA to kill Americans to get Ben Laden! Note the killing of the seal team in an unprotected chopper! We note that our Ambassador was killed with 3 others and protection of help was denied! Why not, Hillary is noted for getting funds from the Muslim Brotherhood through the Clinton Foundation!
America is under attack and it is two pronged! Communists and Muslim! Communist leaders do not care about religion, but the deal is, let the Muslim stop the freedom of religion for other faiths! Then there is only one to control!
I just got a mail from Communist China. Pictures of Christians being tortured or killed simply because they will not give up their faith! Wooden sticks shoved into the ends of their fingers; firing squads that shoot you in the head! It is reported much worse than any persecutions before. Simply because of a faith! It is ongoing here in America with helps from Obama!
The tv ratings are plummeting and more shop doors are being closed and locked because fewer and fewer people want to buy their "garbage can/bird cage liners".
If mainstream media wasn't lying for Dictator Obama, you know the Marxist that took over our once wonderful country, if media didn't help cover up, mainstream media would be better off now. It's like having a friend and finding out almost everything this person told you is a lie, if you keep that person as a friend, you become very careful about what they say to you.
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