American viewers are turning to old-school TV news and some cable news now looks inane
There was a time when the ratings reports for broadcast TV in the U.S. merited close attention. Shows lived or died, or were parked somewhere obscure, because of ratings numbers. That was back around the time 55 million people watched the Academy Awards on TV. That was back before the cord-cutting phenomenon and before streaming services changed everything.on CBS was the week’s No. 1 prime-time broadcast, drawing 9.27 million viewers. Those are staggering numbers for old-school TV.
Even the most avidly watched ramblings and rants on Fox News fail to came close to the numbers delivered by old-fashioned network news during the week after Russia invaded Ukraine. ABC’swas the most-watched show on broadcast TV that week, drawing an average total audience of 8.778 million viewers. That is easily more than Fox News’At times of crisis, whether it’s a weather disaster such as a hurricane, or a shocking event such as the Jan.
The other impact, perhaps, is that the culture wars in the U.S., in this age of spite, also seem puny and lack relevance. Hosts on Fox News in prime time have begun casually using the term “regime” to refer to the Biden administration, as if it was some sort authoritarian cult led by a strongman leader. This is an act normalizing anti-government hysteria. At the same time, it is notable that President Joe Biden has been using strong terms to describe what is happening in Ukraine.
Last Sunday’s 60 Minutes on CBS, featuring an interview with Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukrainian, was the week’s No. 1 prime time broadcast.When the travelling pack of reporters asked him about using language that includes “genocide,” Biden refused to back down. Neither the President nor his team are naive about language or about Vladimir Putin. Nor are they unaware that the gravity of the situation in Ukraine puts petty carping by Fox News and other right-wing outfits under the glare of realism.
It remains to be seen whether this bump of interest and impressive ratings for old-school TV news will have a lasting impact. But one thing is crystal clear: The Trump-era belligerence-politics and finger-pointing on what we are absurdly obliged to call “culture” issues look increasingly inane. And when amainly about Ukraine is the most-watch TV program of the week, something has definitely been upended.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Putin jails Russian spy chief over alleged leaks to U.S. regarding Ukraine war\u0027It\u0027s a tradition of sorts: If you screw up, you need to look for traitors to blame it on. So they started looking for spies\u0027
Read more »
Russian embassy in Canada weaponizes its social media accounts to fuel support for Ukraine warIt attacks the Canadian government and news media for allegedly spreading lies: The Conversation
Read more »
Joly presses China to play ‘constructive role’ to end Russia’s war on Ukraine - National | Globalnews.caCanada and China disagree on many things but Beijing's buy-in is essential on one key issue — helping end the Russian war on Ukraine, says Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
Read more »
Biden says Russia war a 'genocide,' trying to 'wipe out' UkraineU.S. President Joe Biden said Russia's war in Ukraine amounted to 'genocide,' accusing President Vladimir Putin of trying to 'wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.'
Read more »
Why using term 'genocide' matters in Ukraine warA formal U.S. follow-up accusing Russia of genocide, a campaign aimed at wiping out a targeted group, could carry obligations on the world to consider action. That's because of a genocide treaty approved by the U.N. General Assembly in the years immediately after World War II, signed by the United States and more than 150 other nations.
Read more »
WTO lowers 2022 global trade growth forecast due to impact of Russia-Ukraine war, COVID-19 pandemicWTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Tuesday that the economic reverberations from Russia’s invasion ‘will extend far beyond Ukraine’s borders’
Read more »