How the Cable Network Handled Two Big News Stories
I was initially surprised when I looked at Fox News Channel's program guide for the night. My cable provider's guide had the usual programming listed: O'Reilly at eight o'clock, Hannity at nine. But of course they were broadcasting the Republican National Convention. This is Fox News we're talking about. My conclusion to why this cable news channel didn't schedule one large block of programming titled "Republican National Convention" is because it wasn't necessary. Fox News doesn't need to attract an audience for the Republican convention. They already have the target audience tuning in from 8-11 on a daily basis. Their loyal viewers were going to tune in no matter what.On the contrary, MSNBC and CNN need to attract viewers who might not otherwise watch this political event. Well, MSNBC is going to have less of a problem bringing in liberal viewers that will no doubt actively "hate watch" the RNC all week. But CNN is the one cable news channel that tries to play it neutral (even though they do lean left). They get equally excited for both the RNC and (next week's) DNC. Yet when the time came, CNN couldn't help but show Anderson Cooper standing out in the wind and rain instead of showing most of Tuesday night's speakers.
