Rachel Maddow is killing it.

Courtesy of Forbes:  

In March, The Rachel Maddow Show finished as the highest-rated show in cable news, with an average total audience of 3.058 million viewers--the show's best-ever performance in the 9 p.m. ET hour. FNC's Hannity was second, with 3.000 million viewers. Maddow also won among viewers 25-54, the demographic most valued by advertisers, finishing March with an average audience of 671,000 compared to Hannity's 616,000. CNN finished a distant third in the hour, with 382,000 viewers 25-54. 

MSNBC has been experiencing a dramatic rise in ratings, finishing the first quarter of 2018 as the only cable news network to grow compared to Q1 2017: MSNBC ratings were up 30%, while both Fox News and CNN experienced declines. 

In March, MSNBC's programming in prime time, daytime and total day all broke records for the network. The network's prime-time lineup averaged 2.398 million total viewers, finishing as the No. 2 network across all of cable TV. While Fox News continued its run as the top-rated network in cable news, MSNBC's prime lineup was up 8% from 2017, while both Fox (down 18 percent) and CNN (down 16 percent) were off year-over-year. 

The March ratings results suggest Fox News' unrivaled status as the dominant force in cable news may be facing one of the strongest challenges in years.

I know that people are starting to turn away from cable news, and looking for alternative information sources, but for my money MSNBC is consistently the highest quality news that you can get via television.

Their reporting is top notch, they have tons of contributors from the world of print journalism, and they deliver the facts in a straightforward manner.

Sure they lean left, but then typically so do the facts.

And Rachel Maddow is clearly the shining jewel in the MSNBC crown.

Even if I think I know a story that I have been reporting on all day, she will almost always add a different dimension to it, and dredge up facts that had not yet been reported.

By the way she also terrifies those on the Right, who constantly attack her, and Donald Trump, who takes great pains not to.

Barack Obama's retrospective job approval rating is 63%.

Courtesy of Gallup: 

Barack Obama's legacy appears to be on the right track, as 63% of Americans in hindsight say they approve of the way he handled his job. Gallup's first measure of Obama's retrospective job approval rating places him behind only John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan among the 10 most recent presidents. Richard Nixon is rated worst today for how he handled his job, with 28% approving.

Actually whoever typed this up made a mistake as George H. Bush is also rated higher than Obama by a point, which I find unacceptable.

I am also not pleased to see Jimmy Carter so far down the list, and Reagan at the top, as I do not believe this factually represents their contributions to this country.

I will say I fully expect that Obama's rating will only rise in the years to come, and that I would not be surprised if at some point he gave Ronnie a run for his money.

MSNBC is now the number one cable news channel. Deal with it!

Courtesy of Variety: 

MSNBC ranked as the number one network across all of cable in total viewers for the first time in its history, according to Nielsen data. 

For Wednesday, Aug. 16, MSNBC averaged 1.52 million viewers for the total day across all of cable, edging out second place Fox News, who averaged 1.5 million. CNN ranked fourth among all cable networks for the day with 1.13 million total viewers. Nickelodeon was third with 1.17 million. However, in the key adults 25-54 demographic, CNN was number one among the cable news networks for the total day, averaging 381,000 viewers in that measure. Fox News was second in the demo for total day with 353,000 viewers, and MSNBC was third with 343,000. 

In primetime, MSNBC was also first in total viewers among the cable news networks with 2.61 million viewers. Fox News was second with 2.4 million. CNN was third with 1.59 million. In the key demo for primetime, MSNBC was first with 613,000. Fox News narrowly outpaced CNN for second place with 560,000, with CNN averaging 557,000. 

Across all of broadcast in primetime, Wednesday’s episodes of “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” were among the top 10 shows of the night in total viewers, with Maddow averaging 3.25 million viewers at 9 p.m. and O’Donnell averaging 2.54 million at 10. They were both the highest-rated and most-watched cable news programs in their respective time slots, with Maddow also nabbing 778,00 viewers in the key demo and O’Donnell nabbing 597,000.

This has been my go to cable news channel since 2004 so I am glad to see they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. 

Rachel Maddow still remains my all time favorite, but I am loving me some Joy Reid. Katy Tur, and Lawrence O'Donnell as well.

Fox News is no longer the most watched cable news network. That honor goes to MSNBC.

Courtesy of The Independent: 

Fox News was knocked off the number one slot as the most-watched primetime cable television network in America, after being overtaken by MSNBC. 

According to figures from global research company Nielsen, the network was the most-watched station during the weekday prime evening slot from 7pm to midnight between 17 and 21 July. 

During this time the more centrist network gained 2.34 million viewers, while Fox News had 2.25 million.

The sought-after evening slots include shows from Fox presenters Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, and the network previously gained the highest number of viewers. 

The Rachel Maddow Show, which was the first television show to expose two pages of Donald Trump’s 2005 tax returns, also gained more viewers than Fox News and CNN for the fourth consecutive week in the prime slot between 9 to 10pm.

Man you know that Roger Ailes is spinning is his grave like a rotisserie chicken right about now.

This is really great news, and so well deserved.

MSNBC needs to recognize why this is happening, and the hunger people have for good journalism, and stop bringing on those Fox News castoffs for "balance."

MSNBC is what it is and people love it.

Currently I do not have too many must watch shows.

But the Rachel Maddow Show is at the top of my must see TV list every single day.

The only other show that attracts that kind of allegiance from me is "Game of Thrones." And Rachel Maddow does not even have to use dragons.

MSNBC hits number one in cable news ratings while Fox News flirts with the number three spot.

Courtesy of Variety:  

For the first time in its history, MSNBC ranked number one in both total viewers and the key adults 25-54 demographic during primetime for a full week among the big three cable news networks, according to Nielsen data. 

For the week of May 15, MSNBC averaged 2.44 million viewers with 611,000 in the key demo from 8 p.m.-11 p.m., beating out CNN and Fox News in both measures. In total day viewership for the week, CNN has ranked number one in cable news among adults 25-54 for six straight days (May 14-19), marking the network’s longest winning streak in that measure in six years. Fox News finished first in total viewers with 1.5 million and second in the demo with 321,000. MSNBC was second in total viewers with 1.2 million total viewers and third in the demo with 281,000. CNN finished third in total viewers with 1.05 million but first in the demo with 353,000. 

In addition, Fox News ranked number three in primetime in the key demographic for five straight days with 497,000 viewers, the longest streak at number three the network has had in that measure in 17 years, since June 2000. CNN finished second in the demo with 588,000. Fox was second in total viewers, however, with 2.41 million, beating out CNN’s 1.65 million.

This is just more bad news for Fox News who was hit with three new claims of discrimination this week, as well as an op-ed by Monica Lewisnky who specifically called them out for building their reputation by trashing hers.

I really am starting to believe that we are seeing the end of Fox News.

Or at least the end of Fox News as we have known it.

Which cannot be a bad thing in my mind.

Rachel Maddow now dominates cable news.

Courtesy of Variety:

For the first three nights of this week, Maddow’s 9 p.m. broadcast on MSNBC was the most-watched on cable-news in primetime – a position that had long been enjoyed by the 8 p.m. hour in the Fox News schedule, where O’Reilly had a roost for more than two decades,and where Tucker Carlson now holds court. 

Maddow’s recent gains are part of a viewership surge at the NBCUniversal-owned network that comes as a chaotic White House has driven viewers to MSNBC in ways the executives really haven’t seen since the days of Keith Olbermann. Last week, MSNBC’s primetime schedule was tops in the demographic most coveted by advertisers – people between 25 and 54 – for the first time since the week of December 29, 2008. MSNBC’s “Maddow,” “The Last Word” and “11th Hour” are all leading in that viewership category for the month to date, according to data from Nielsen.

“MSNBC’s ratings surge is entirely due to the ongoing crisis of fake news – the more that news designed to deceive plays a role in politics and our lives, the more people hunger for news they can trust and which is demonstrably true,” said Paul Levinson, a professor of media studies at Fordham University.

Well as a long time fan, I am quite happy to see Rachel finally getting the attention she deserves.

She has been my go to news source for many years now, and I am never disappointed. 

FCC may go after Stephen Colbert for suggesting that Donald Trump's mouth was Putin's "c**k holster."

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Late night talk show host Stephen Colbert’s controversial joke about President Trump drew the attention of the Federal Communications Commission. The agency received “a number” of complaints about Colbert’s commentary earlier in the week, according to the FCC’s chief. 

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai promised to “take the appropriate action” following a comprehensive investigation of Colbert’s remarks. 

The FCC's response will depend on whether Colbert’s remarks are considered “obscene.” 

“We are going to take the facts that we find and we are going to apply the law as it’s been set out by the Supreme Court and other courts and we’ll take the appropriate action,” he told Talk Radio 1210 WPHT Thursday. 

“Traditionally, the agency has to decide, if it does find a violation, what the appropriate remedy should be,” he said. "A fine, of some sort, is typically what we do.”

Somehow I doubt that Colbert is going to sweat any FCC fine, since currently his show is enjoying its best ratings since it first went on the air: 

As conservative activists call on CBS to #FireColbert, the network reports that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has just scored its best overnight rating since the week the show premiere in September 2015. Thursday night's episode scored a 2.5 rating, far surpassing NBC's Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, which came in at 1.9. According to CBS, this number marked a 19% increase from the previous Thursday and a 32% bump from the same night last year. 

By the way if you are one of the few people who have not yet seen the bit that caused all of his hullabaloo, well here's your chance to join the club.

And you're welcome.

With Bill O'Reilly out of the picture Rachel Maddow emerges as new juggernaut of cable news.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Fox News normally ranks #1 among cable news channels. But lately MSNBC's Rachel Maddow has been challenging Fox at 9 p.m., the centerpiece of the prime time schedule.

Maddow's surge is being fueled partly by her day-in, day-out criticism of the Trump administration. There is an increased appetite for the liberal arguments she has been making for years. 

"There's a reason Rachel is beating Fox and CNN," MSNBC president Phil Griffin told CNNMoney in an email. "She's a talented storyteller who's helping her audience cut through all the confusion coming out of Washington. She's connecting dots in ways no one else is.

"The week of April 10, for instance, Maddow just barely beat Carlson -- she averaged 542,000 viewers in the demo while he averaged 541,000. CNN ranked third with an average of 396,000 in the demo. 

Maddow's show has been MSNBC's tentpole, its highest rated program, for many years. The difference now is the competition with Fox News.

Maddow's increased popularity has even inspired one longtime Right Wing propagandist to become a little hyperbolic.

Macron. Flying cars. Maddow #1 in TV news. Welcome to hell.

— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) April 24, 2017

(Wait, we have flying cars now?)

 I have long suspected that there is something hinky about Fox's ability to dominate cable news, but so far there has never been any revelations about paying off TV ratings services or anything of that nature. (Though let's face it, we certainly would not put it past News Corp to do just that.)

There ARE a few theories out there: 

Fox news enjoys betters ratings precisely because it is "biased, selfish, manipulative & hate-filled". It is exciting stuff for the irrational or ignorant whom would like to be politically involved, but do not have the proper foundation of studies (Economics/Politics/Government/Finance/Law). Therefore, they can push an agenda without corresponding facts to suit the theories and behavior promoted. 

Sounds reasonable to me.

It should also be pointed out that the Fox News viewers are easily the MOST partisan group of cable news watchers out there, far more conservative than either CNN or MSNBC viewers are liberal.

And for years Fox News was their one stop shop to feed their confirmation bias.

On the other hand Rachel Maddow has an actual PHD and seems to be determined to follow the facts wherever they might lead her.

Her shows are incredibly informative, often containing history lessons, instruction about the way government works, and plenty of heretofore unknown trivia about both.

She also does not utilize tried and true Fox News methods such as inviting scantily clad blondes to discuss the news of the day, or yelling at her guests and calling them stupid when they have the temerity to disagree with her.

Instead she continues, day by day, to deliver the truth.

And in the era of Donald Trump the thirst for that truth has never been more deeply felt.

Things we learned from Trump's interview with the Associated Press.

Trump did not realize that the decisions of a president involve life and death: 

Number One, there's great responsibility. When it came time to, as an example, send out the 59 missiles, the Tomahawks in Syria. I'm saying to myself, "You know, this is more than just like, 79 (sic) missiles. This is death that's involved," because people could have been killed. This is risk that's involved, because if the missile goes off and goes in a city or goes in a civilian area — you know, the boats were hundreds of miles away — and if this missile goes off and lands in the middle of a town or a hamlet .... every decision is much harder than you'd normally make. (unintelligible) ... This is involving death and life and so many things. ... So it's far more responsibility. 

He expected favorable press coverage:  

I used to get great press. I get the worst press. I get such dishonest reporting with the media. That's another thing that really has — I've never had anything like it before. It happened during the primaries, and I said, you know, when I won, I said, "Well the one thing good is now I'll get good press." And it got worse. (unintelligible) So that was one thing that a little bit of a surprise to me. I thought the press would become better, and it actually, in my opinion, got more nasty.

Trump claims that he gets higher ratings than the bombing of the twin towers in 2001:  

TRUMP: No I have, it's interesting, I have, seem to get very high ratings. I definitely. You know Chris Wallace had 9.2 million people, it's the highest in the history of the show. I have all the ratings for all those morning shows. When I go, they go double, triple. Chris Wallace, look back during the Army-Navy football game, I did his show that morning. 

AP: I remember, right. 

TRUMP: It had 9.2 million people. It's the highest they've ever had. On any, on air, (CBS "Face the Nation" host John) Dickerson had 5.2 million people. It's the highest for "Face the Nation" or as I call it, "Deface the Nation." It's the highest for "Deface the Nation" since the World Trade Center. Since the World Trade Center came down. It's a tremendous advantage.

Trump is obsessed with cable news, but wants everybody to think he never watches it:  

TRUMP: OK. The one thing I've learned to do that I never thought I had the ability to do. I don't watch CNN anymore. 

AP: You just said you did. 

TRUMP: No. No, I, if I'm passing it, what did I just say (inaudible)? 

AP: You just said — 

TRUMP: Where? Where? 

AP: Two minutes ago. 

TRUMP: No, they treat me so badly. No, I just said that. No, I, what'd I say, I stopped watching them. But I don't watch CNN anymore. I don't watch MSNBC. I don't watch it. Now I heard yesterday that MSNBC, you know, they tell me what's going on. 

AP: Right. 

TRUMP: In fact, they also did. I never thought I had the ability to not watch. Like, people think I watch (MSNBC's) "Morning Joe." I don't watch "Morning Joe." I never thought I had the ability to, and who used to treat me great by the way, when I played the game. I never thought I had the ability to not watch what is unpleasant, if it's about me. Or pleasant. But when I see it's such false reporting and such bad reporting and false reporting that I've developed an ability that I never thought I had. I don't watch things that are unpleasant. I just don't watch them. 

AP: And do you feel like that's, that's because of the office that you now occupy — 

TRUMP: No. 

AP: That you've made that change? 

TRUMP: I don't know why it is, but I've developed that ability, and it's happened over the last, over the last year. 

AP: That's interesting. 

TRUMP: And I don't watch things that I know are going to be unpleasant. CNN has covered me unfairly and incorrectly and I don't watch them anymore. A lot of people don't watch them anymore, they're now in third place. But I've created something where people are watching ... but I don't watch CNN anymore. I don't watch MSNBC anymore. I don't watch things, and I never thought I had that ability. I always thought I'd watch.

This comes the day after the Washington Post reported on Trump's  obsession with cable news: 

In the morning, the president typically flips between “Fox & Friends,” Maria Bartiromo’s show on Fox Business and CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” West Wing aides assert that the president stopped watching MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” after the show’s hosts grew increasingly critical of his presidency, but some confidants think he still tunes in, especially for the top of the program. 

His feelings toward CNN and its president, Jeff Zucker, who greenlighted “The Apprentice” when he was running NBC Entertainment, are similarly fraught. Trump is furious with Zucker for what he thinks is the network’s unfair coverage but admires Zucker’s business bona fides and ratings growth, said a friend. 

Most of the televisions in the West Wing display four channels at all times — CNN, Fox, Fox Business and MSNBC. 

The president also likes One America News, a conservative-leaning channel whose correspondent often gets questions in Spicer’s daily news briefing, and before the campaign told an aide that he occasionally enjoyed watching Al Jazeera. 

As most of you know I typically like to sprinkle comments throughout a post like this, however most of what I quote from the AP article left me stunned and speechless.

Even after years of covering Sarah Palin interviews, this one was almost too batshit crazy to believe.

The man literally bragged about getting television ratings second only to the most devastating terrorist attack in this country's history.

How does one respond to that?

It appears that Rachel Maddow is currently the queen of cable news.

Courtesy of Yahoo News:

MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” finished the Week of March 27 as the most-watched show in cable news among the key demographic of adults age 25-54. 

“The Rachel Maddow Show” averaged 2.70 million total viewers and 624,000 viewers among the demo last week, while O’Reilly averaged 2.69 million total viewers and 537,000 in the demo. Maddow has now beaten Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” for three straight weeks, as the MSNBC host continues to gain popularity. 

Maddow has been on fire and has now topped O’Reilly every week since she revealed President Trump’s 2005 tax return on March 14. Typically, O’Reilly has the No. 1 show among all of cable news on a regular basis.

And people thought that Trump tax return show was a flop. Hah!

And lets face it if O'Reilly continues to lose advertisers at the current pace he might no longer be on cable news for Rachel to compete against.

Gee, wouldn't that be just a non-terrible thing to happen?

P.S. This is for all of those Maddow haters out there. Sucks to be you.

Arnold Schwarzenegger will NOT "be back" on The Apprentice. Blames Trump for poor ratings. Update!

Courtesy of Empire Online:  

Fans of Celebrity Apprentice are about to lose the show's biggest asset as Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be returning to host another season of the show. "I learned a lot, I had a great time, it was a really great opportunity," Schwarzenegger said, speaking exclusively to Empire. "But under the circumstances I don't want to do it again."

"It's not about the show," he explained. "because everyone I ran into came up to me and said 'I love the show... but I turned it off because as soon as I read Trump's name I'm outta there!'" 

"NBC did everything they could to promote the show and [producer] Mark Burnett did a fantastic job. No one really knew that this was going to happen and I think that everyone was caught off guard." 

"When people found out that Trump was still involved as executive producer and was still receiving money from the show, then half the people [started] boycotting it."

"Even if asked [to do it again] I would decline." Said Schwarzenegger. "With Trump being involved in the show people have a bad taste and don't want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show. It's a very divisive period now and I think this show got caught up in all that division."

Of course as we know Trump blamed the low ratings on Schwarzenegger.

Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger did a really bad job as Governor of California and even worse on the Apprentice...but at least he tried hard!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017

And then just today Trump went after Schwarzenegger again.

Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017

However I would agree with Arnold on this one.

Trump's name is now toxic.

Unless Trump wants to also blame his poor approval ratings, the rejection of Ivanka's clothing line, and small inauguration crowds on Schwarzenegger as well.

Personally I always thought that the contrived conflicts in The Apprentice were an insult to the viewer's intelligence, but apparently there are a number of people in this country with no intelligence to insult.

I would also classify them as "Trump voters."

Update: Arnold responds.

You should think about hiring a new joke writer and a fact checker. https://t.co/SvAjuPdHfa

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 4, 2017

Nicely done.

SNL enjoying highest ratings in 22 years.

Courtesy of Yahoo News: 

If President Donald Trump tweets about Saturday Night Live‘s terrible ratings, consider it the fakest of news: In reality, the NBC sketch-comedy series is having its most-viewed season in 22 years.

The most recent SNL, in which Melissa McCarthy lampooned White House press secretary Sean Spicer, nabbed a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49, according to TVLine’s sister site, Variety. As such, the late-night laugher ranked behind only CBS’ The Big Bang Theory as the highest rated program in the demo. These numbers are in line with SNL‘s overall Season 42 viewership — its best since Season 20 — which is up 19 percent in the demo and 22 percent in total viewers over last year.

SNL‘s recent success is likely to irk the ratings-conscious Trump, who used part of his speaking time at February’s National Prayer Breakfast to malign Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stewardship of Celebrity Apprentice, which Trump used to host (and on which he is still credited as an executive producer). 

Oh yeah, this is going to piss Cheeto Hitler off big time.

Which is why it's such awesome news.

I have to admit that this is the first time since Tina Fey was mocking our favorite dimwitted Mat-Su moron that I have so actively looked forward to Saturday nights.

The ratings for Donald Trump's pre-Superbowl interview are much lower than President Obama's.

Courtesy of Variety:  

President Donald Trump sat down on Sunday afternoon with Fox News for the president’s now-customary pre-Super Bowl interview. The segment with “O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly, which aired during Fox Broadcasting’s pre-game coverage around 4 p.m., drew an average audience of 12.2 million viewers.

President Obama’s first pre-Super Bowl interview, with NBC’s Matt Lauer in 2009, brought in an average audience of 21.9 million viewers in Nielsen’s final accounting. The half-hour of 2011’s Super Bowl pre-game coverage — which included O’Reilly’s highly anticipated interview with Obama — attracted an average audience of 17.3 million. In 2016, Obama’s interview drew 14.9 million; in 2015, 16.4 million; in 2014, 18 million. 

The Trump-O’Reilly interview drew a 7.8 household rating in Nielsen’s metered market overnight ratings. President Obama’s last three sit-downs before the Super Bowl drew overnight household ratings of 9.2, 10.2, and 11.5; his first, a 9.6.

Yeah I know, who cares about rating? After all those are not necessarily a good indication of a president's power or popularity.

Maybe, but I know somebody who would disagree with that.

This guy.

In his world ratings are EVERYTHING.

And you know that repeatedly losing out to President Obama is driving him even further out of his mind.

The Tweeter-in-Chief strikes again.

Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn't these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017

Actually Pussy-grabber I would actually imagine that the vast majority of the participants in the protest DID vote.

However without a doubt there are a lot of people in the country who did not recognize the importance of this election, who are now kicking themselves.

Perhaps some of them showed up as well.

Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017

Of course Trump would be quick to brag about this. However he clearly does not understand how inaugural TV ratings work.

Here let The Hollywood Reporter explain this to you Donnie:

Wall-to-wall coverage of the extensive festivities reached an average 30.6 million total viewers across the 12 broadcast and cable networks that went live for much of the day. That's 18 percent down from the nearly 38 million viewers who watched President Barack Obama being sworn in as No. 44 in 2009.

Topping 2009 was a lofty goal, but beating the most recent inauguration was easy. Second-term festivities, quite predictably, never have as much appeal as the first go around. And 2013 saw Obama average 20.6 million viewers. (That was the most for a second swearing-in since Bill Clinton's in 1997.) First-term comparisons are considerably more competitive. The 2009 inauguration saw an average 37.8 million viewers watch between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, with an estimated 25.5 percent of U.S. households watching. Ronald Reagan, the last entertainer turned politician to take the highest office, did so with 41.8 million viewers tuned in — and a whopping 37.4 percent of households.

In other words if Trump wants to do an apples to apples comparison he needs to wait until his second inauguration.  (Assuming of course that he is not impeached during his first term.)

Just to drive the point home Nielsen shows that his TV numbers were the second worst in first term inaugural history. Just ahead of George H. W. Bush.

Not a lot of bragging rights there Donnie.

At this point it appears that somebody a little less thin skinned seems to have grabbed control of Trump's Twitter account.

Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017

Sure he does.

Of course this makes little difference since we all know that just as soon as Trump finds his phone he will tweet something completely un-presidential to remind the country how unfit he is for the job.

MSNBC shows more growth among viewers who don't have one foot in the grave than does Fox News or CNN.

Courtesy of NBC Universal:  

MSNBC saw the most growth in cable news for January 2016 during “Morning Joe” and Monday-Friday dayside programming (M-F 9a-5p). MSNBC’s dayside programming (M-F 9a-5p) was up 60% in A25-54 and 46% in total viewers while Fox News was up only 27% and CNN was down by 9%. MSNBC’s M-F 8-11p was up 44% in A254-54 and 45% in total viewers over last year, topping CNN which was only up 16% and tying Fox News which was only up 44% in A25-54 over last year in M-F 8-11p. January 2016 was the best M-F 8-11p demo performance for MSNBC since February 2014 and in total viewers since October 2013. M-F 9a-5p saw the highest A25-54 since March 2014. 

“Morning Joe” was up 41% in A25-54 (127,000 vs. CNN’s 115,000) and 54% in total viewers (505,000 vs. CNN’s 396,000) over last year, beating CNN in both for the month. January 2016 was the best month for “Morning Joe” since January 2014. In M-F 6-9a, Fox News was only up 13% and CNN was down 17% in A25-54. 

“The Rachel Maddow Show” beat CNN in A25-54 (244,000 vs. CNN’s 232,000) and total viewers (1,062,000 vs. CNN’s 727,000) for the month with double digit growth over last year, 59% in A25-54 and 42% in total viewers. At 9pm, CNN and Fox News were both down in A25-54 over last month. “The Rachel Maddow Show” had the best A25-54 delivery since February 2014 and best total viewers since October 2013. 

I really can't stand Morning Joe, but I'm glad that MSNBC is attracting younger eyes.  Especially with so many devices competing with cable television.

As for Rachel Maddow I think that EVERYBODY should be watching her show regardless of their political leanings, simply because her show is the best when it comes to presenting the facts, and having those facts withstand scrutiny from fact checkers.

Oh and before anybody gets themselves in a snit over my "one foot in the grave" remark, allow me to remind you that I am on the wrong side of that 25 to 54 demographic as well.

The fact is that these new viewers are likely to stick around far longer than the 55-75 crowd that seems to prefer Fox News.

Nancy French brags about fact that her "mom's" SNL appearance received higher ratings than Donald Trump's.

Courtesy of Brancy's blog:

Donald Trump hosted SNL this week, and his appearance drew a lot of attention as usual. He brought in the highest overnight ratings for the show since 2012. 

However, it made me smile to see this fun fact about those ratings:

French then links to this LA Times article:  

The Saturday telecast averaged a 6.6 rating and a 16% share of the TV audience in the 56 markets that Nielsen tabulates for overnight ratings. It was the strongest overnight number for "SNL" since former NBA star Charles Barkley hosted the program.

But the well-publicized appearance by Trump falls far short of the 10.7 overnight rating the show received on Oct. 18, 2008, when Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was featured. At the time, it was the highest rated "SNL" in 14 years.

French continues with this:

(And that happened to be on my 18th birthday!) Mom, you’re the best!

Okay well first off I think it has WAY longer than seven years since Nancy French saw eighteen.

And second is the idea that more people tuned in with the hopes of seeing Sarah Palin fail miserably, than did to see Trump do the same, really something worth bragging about?

Besides let's face it NOBODY was hoping that Donald Trump would have a wardrobe malfunction.

Now I am no Trump defender (That's an understatement.) but he DID actually take the plunge and launch a real live presidential campaign instead of teasing his supporters for years and then wimping out at the last minute, like somebody we could mention.

Not only that but he also does not have to hire a woman to portray his daughter on the internet in order to get flattering things said about him.

I have an idea, let's have Sarah Palin go on SNL NOW and see what kinds of ratings she gets.

But we already know she won't. Even IF they would even book her these days. Which is doubtful.

MSNBC sees ratings rise sharply, while Fox News faces ratings decline.

Courtesy of TV Newser: 

MSNBC saw across-the-board ratings gains for the month of October, vs. October 2014. 

The network was up +26 percent in total day viewing and up +26% in prime time, among total viewers. The A25-54 demo growth was smaller: +4 percent for total day and +6 percent in prime time. MSNBC finished 3rd among total viewers and 4th in the demo, behind HLN, for total day viewing. 

A news cycle that was heavy in politics certainly helped give MSNBC a boost. (It’s also the only big 3 news network not to host a primary debate.) Still, marquee shows were up double digits in viewers, including Morning Joe (+36 percent), Hardball with Chris Matthews (+16 percent), All In with Chris Hayes (+32 percent), The Rachel Maddow Show (+31 percent) and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (+33 percent).

By contrast Fox News, which is still the cable news outlet to beat, saw an entirely different story:

Fox News Channel narrowly held on to win the A25-54 demo for the month of October, edging CNN by 1,000 viewers, or just .3 percent. (CNN got a boost from the first democratic debate). But unlike CNN and MSNBC, Fox News was down in the A25-54 demo vs. Oct. 2014: down -11 percent in total day and down -1 percent in prime time.

Now make no mistake Fox News is still crushing it, but they are not crushing it quite as completely as in years past, and as their demographic continues to die off around them we may in the near future see their numbers tumble into single digits.

And let's face it those numbers are not likely to rebound due to the fact that young people as a whole are completely turned off by Fox News, which was made apparent when Cornell University recently kicked them off campus. 

Of course in the future ALL cable news outlets may find themselves scrambling for viewers as millennials are increasingly embracing a practice known as "cord cutting" in which they get all of their news, information, and entertainment over the internet and not through the traditional sources, or electronic devices, embraced by their parents.

Verizon removes the Sportsman Channel and Outdoor Channel from their lineup. Ted Nugent goes on Mama Grizzly Radio to bitch about it.

Verizon removes Sportsman Chanel, once home to Sarah Palin, and the Outdoor channel, which hosts Ted Nugent.

Warning this links to Breitbart: 

Verizon FIOS scrapped Sportsman Channel, home to Amazing America with Sarah Palin, and Outdoor Channel, which runs Ted Nugent’s show. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, LLC (“KSE”) owns both networks. 

While Verizon cries low viewership, Nugent isn’t buying it. While appearing on Mama Grizzly Radio, Nugent pulled no punches. “Political correctness is choking the life out of the freedom in this country,” said the legendary rocker. “You’ve got a bunch of punks on the other side of the world that think that somehow in between barbecues the animals have rights—which is so absurd that Alfred E. Newman wouldn’t include it in the next issue of Mad aagazine because he’d be too busy flying over the cuckoo’s nest.” 

Nugent went on to speak about Verizon and why they’re really taking away these channels rich in American tradition. “Anybody that’s against hunting, fishing and trapping, the Second Amendment, and self defense—you really have to be from some planet other than Earth,” said Nugent. 

The Motor City Madman points to the “soullessness of those on the Left that are against truth, nature, God’s creation, and the perfection of tooth, fang, and claw that produces back straps to feed America and the world. It really is Planet of the Apes stuff when you’re against this kind of perfection.”

Well first off the fact that Nugent went on Mama Grizzly Radio to vent his frustration is hysterical all on its own, but the fact that he believes one cannot be a good American without murdering every animal that comes within a hundred yards of them is laugh out loud funny as well.

Of course the reason that Verizon dropped the two channels, which are both part of the Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks, was due to low ratings.

However Ted "Poopy pants" Nugent isn't having it.

“It’s a lie,” Nugent said. “It’s a political correct escape mechanism. Verizon is infested with anti-hunters, animal rights freaks, anti-gunners, people that don’t believe in self defense.”

Wow, I see that Nugent continues to barely cling to his sanity. 

As it turns out the NRA agrees with Nugent (Well of course they do.) and they have issued a call to action.

Which since these are NRA members we are talking about I assume means they will be shooting their TVs.  

The Bill O'Reilly lies come in, the Bill O'Reilly lies go out, nobody can explain that.

So I thought it would be a good idea to do a kind of round up of where the Bill O'Reilly Lie-o-meter is today. Because, simply put, I LOVE this story.

First up we have some input from the former Bill O'Reilly producer and Fox News mole, Joe Muto, who claims that Billo will probably survive this scandal:

The only way O'Reilly can be seriously damaged is if more allegations about his statements come forward from sources other than partisan organizations, said Joe Muto, a former O'Reilly producer fired by Fox after he began writing an anonymous blog as the "Fox mole." 

"Ultimately, he'll survive this because he's not held — by his bosses, or the public, or himself — to the same standards of truth-telling as Brian Williams is," Muto said. "People expect a certain degree of hyperbole and exaggeration from O'Reilly. It's baked into the job description. It's part of his persona."

That seems to be the opinion of a number of news pundits, but it may not be accurate.

According to a new HuffPo/YouGov poll only 35% of Americans believe that O'Reilly should be considered trustworthy: 

The allegations building against Bill O'Reilly are apparently taking a harsh toll on his trustworthiness and favorability among Americans. 

Only 35 percent of Americans still find the Fox News host trustworthy, while 21 percent find him "very untrustworthy" and 16 percent find him "somewhat untrustworthy," according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted this week. 

Thirty-seven percent of participants now have an unfavorable view of the host. 

The poll also revealed that half of Americans have now heard about the allegations against him.

I am not sure where the trust level was BEFORE these revelations came to light, but I am somewhat stunned that more than one third of Americans trust a single thing that falls out of this assholes mouth.

According to Media Matters the idea that all of this is not having a lasting effect on O'Reilly and Fox News may also be a misreading of the situation:  

Year after year, newsroom embarrassments like O'Reilly's undermine Fox's credibility to the point where it seems more and more journalists today start with a working assumption that Fox is not a legitimate news operation. That represents a major shift from President Obama's first year in office and it's a key reason why O'Reilly's fabrications matter. (The fewer journalists who view Fox News as being legitimate means that less of Fox's misinformation has an impact beyond the right-wing media bubble.) 

There are other clues that the ongoing O'Reilly storm has taken a toll: If the fabrication controversy has been such a home run for Roger Ailes and company, why has the rest of Fox team remained largely silent on the subject? If it represented a win, wouldn't colleagues help O'Reilly circle the bases while taunting the "liberal" media? 

Since this is reflective of the point I myself made last night, I of course find myself in total agreement with it. 

Right now Fox and O'Reilly are going to pretend that none of this matters, and that it is only another attack by the liberal media jealous of their success.

However that really only works with the original Fox News demographic.

In the real world, where people expect a certain level of accountability and trustworthiness from its journalists, this is going to leave a very sour taste. And that has an impact on Fox's efforts to attract new viewers who are NOT watching their program while strapped to an oxygen tank.

It should be noted that while the Brian Williams scandal hurt Brian Williams, it did NOT hurt NBC News who just posted the highest ratings in quite some time.

However Fox News, who get only a fraction of NBC's numbers, is already suffering a crisis of confidence among the viewing public, and this scandal can really only cause a further erosion of trust and, perhaps more importantly, of ratings.

Canada forces their version of Fox News off the air. Hey, can you tell us how you did that?

Courtesy of CBC: 

Sun News Network is about to sign off, permanently. CBC News has learned that the cable news television channel will shut down early Friday. 

The network began broadcasting in April 2011, launching a right-of-centre programming schedule, but it has had a constant challenge attracting viewers. 

Its supporters blamed the CRTC for not giving it the same access enjoyed by news channels operated by CBC and CTV. 

The federal broadcast regulator denied Sun News a guaranteed spot on basic cable TV packages in August 2013. 

Data released as part of that application showed that while the network was available to 5.1 million households, it was only attracting, on average, 8,000 viewers at any given time. 

That number was far lower than what well-established all-news networks operated by CTV and CBC were reporting. CBC, for example, said it had eight times as many viewers as Sun News. 

When Quebecor launched the station, media pundits quickly dubbed it "Fox News North."

Once again here I am feeling very envious of my Canadian friends. 

If only our FCC was as ballsy as the Canadian federal regulators. They should have labeled the network a propaganda arm of the Republican party and forced it off the air years ago.

In other news a local Fox affiliate "accidentally" identified President Obama as a suspect in a sexual assault.

Yep jealous, that's what I am.