The news industry saw steep declines in engagement during the past year, according to a report from The Associated Press.
The outlet writes:
Cable news networks were the main form of evening entertainment for millions of Americans last year. In 2021, weekday prime-time viewership dropped 38% at CNN, 34% at Fox News Channel and 25% at MSNBC, according to the Nielsen company.
The decline was less steep but still significant at broadcast television evening newscasts: 12% at ABC’s “World News Tonight” and the “CBS Evening News;” 14% at NBC’s “Nightly News,” Nielsen said.
The Trump era saw explosive subscriber growth for some digital news sites like The New York Times and Washington Post. Yet readers aren’t spending as much time there; Comscore said the number of unique visitors to the Post’s site was down 44% in November compared to November 2020, and down 34% at the Times.
“A lot of this was to be expected as the news cycle moved on from the four-alarm fires of the Trump administration and the momentous nature of a presidential election year,” writes Deadline’s Ted Johnson. “Coupled with the onset of Covid-19 shutdowns, the year 2020 was a ratings bonanza for the news business, so it’s natural that there would be a bit of a come down.”
“People to some degree have focused inward,” Tom Rosenstiel, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, told The AP. “They’re getting the news that they need but it’s not as much news as it was a year ago.”
The AP notes:
Both CNN and MSNBC face key programming decisions in the new year. CNN must replace its most popular host, Chris Cuomo, who was fired after it was revealed how he helped his brother through a political scandal. MSNBC must replace Brian Williams in its lineup and will most likely see its most popular personality, Rachel Maddow, cut back on her hours.