Politics | 03/27/2009 10:10 am
Couric Ratings Rise 22% in Six Months
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Remember when naysayers predicted Katie Couric would bomb as anchor for "CBS Evening News"? Well, they were wrong — really wrong.
Page Six reports today that Couric’s ratings have risen 22 percent over the past six months, perhaps thanks to her now-famous interview with Sarah Palin. Ever the mensch, Couric refused to take all the credit for her show’s success, telling the gossip column, "It’s all due to the staff, the correspondents and producer Rick Kaplan. It takes a while for anything to click and for people to get used to me."
Couric also remarked that she had no idea so many people would be so interested in her numbers. Regardless, we offer Couric a hearty congratulations!
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117 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
I am also ‘not one of them’, LL! I would prefer people just do the news straightforward (Cronkite,Chancellor,Huntley, Brinkley-style), not with the attitude that the audience needs to understand how amazing they are, like Katie.
I must admit, I loved Katie back when she read the news on Today and when she first hosted that program. But she somehow morphed herself into quite a monster and seems to feel that we are all entitled to her opinion and bias. She is totally unpalatable now.
When I was an adolescent, the evening news was part of dinner - there’s something that has never happened in my own family! My point is that John Chancellor at that time read the news, just the facts, no biases implied. Only once did I ever see the slightest hint of a smirk at one corner of his mouth and it quickly disappeared.
I never ever watch the nightly news anymore - my mother always asks me if I have seen this story or that. My folks still have it on with dinner. My meal wouldn’t sit well if I did!
Rudi…….guess we could get our propaganda news from you?
THU., MARCH 26, 2009
FOXNEWS O’REILLY 3,420,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,987,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,374,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,160,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 1,940,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,888,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,322,000
CNNHN GRACE 1,300,000
MSNBC MADDOW 1,208,000
CNN KING 1,144,000
CNN COOPER 1,118,000
CNN’s weekday prime-time ratings are relatively flat compared to last year during the primary campaign, up 1 percent from March 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox’s ratings have jumped 30 percent and MSNBC, the new No. 2, is up 24 percent. The biggest growth in cable news is for CNN’s partner, Headline News, which is up 62 percent.
Fox remains on a mountain above its two closest competitors, with its prime-time audience in March more than that of MSNBC and CNN combined. "The O’Reilly Factor" has done particularly well, keeping more of its postelection audience than anything else on CNN and MSNBC.
Through Wednesday, Fox was averaging 2.73 million prime-time viewers in March. MSNBC had 1.16 million and CNN had 1.14 million. The March ratings period ends Friday, and it’s doubtful CNN will be able to overcome MSNBC.
Fox is ready to start a new venture Monday, "The Fox Nation," which it bills as an online community that believes in "your right to express your views, your values, your voice." Fox representatives would not immediately return a call for comment.