The liberal war on conservative media can be equated with an army using blunderbusses in an age of Predator drones.
That is, there’s nothing subtle or stealth about the attacks from the left on the small segment of the media that wants to defend traditional American values.
From lawmakers on Capitol Hill to social media titans to leading lights of what passes for journalism in contemporary America, they are bluntly calling for conservative media to be disappeared. In Congress, Democrats overtly pressure cable companies and streaming services over carrying Fox News and others. On Twitter and Facebook, they simply shut down conservatives. In some cases, pundits demand advertisers quit their support.
At the forefront of this ideological combat is Fox-obsessed Brian Stelter of CNN.
And like a (Pillsbury) doughboy rushing from the trenches, he charges ahead only to get mowed down by return fire.
The latest came when Stelter thought he’d take down Newsmax a peg or three. But it’s better hearing it from Newsmax.
Newsmax had seen a rating surge after the election, as had the One America News Network. The consensus was that conservatives felt Fox News had abandoned them as former President Donald Trump.
Stelter turned off Fox for once, and decided he’d turn on Newsmax.
As the kids say, it did not go well.
Stelter, according to Newsmax, contacted the network at 9 p.m. Wednesday for a comment on something he was writing for the next day. He gave them an hour to respond. His thesis, Newsmax reported, was that “Newsmax is no longer getting pro-Trump Big Lie ratings boost. Biden is a comparatively tame story.”
The Free Press and others have noted how CNN’s own rating has nose-dived since Trump left office. But Stelter is never one to see the log in his own eye as he seeks to remove that speck in someone else’s.
Newsmax did it for him, however.
Newsmax responded the next day with actual ratings numbers that show CNN is tanking, including Stelter’s own ironically named show, “Reliable Sources.” It also asked Stelter to comment on Newsmax’s story about CNN; dying ratings.
Not surprisingly, he did not respond.
“So, what’s the real story for the ratings spin from CNN?” Newsmax offered on Thursday.
“CNN and Stelter have been advocates of ‘deplatforming’ the Newsmax channel, in a clear censorship effort to reduce competition, especially as their own ratings have fallen off a cliff.”
To back that up, Newsmax maintained it is the No. 4 cable news channel in the United States and ranks in the top 25 for cable daytime broadcasting.
Newsmax’s growth has spiked over the past three quarters and grew by 23 percent alone among viewers 35-64 from the fourth quarter of 2020 till now. Ratings for its top shows are up between 24 percent and 39 percent since the end of the year.
“Over the past few months, Newsmax has had a sudden rise, catapulting the independent network as a top cable news player.
This fact has panicked not only CNN but Fox News, which has made dramatic changes in its lineup to counter Newsmax,” the network wrote.
CNN’s ratings, meanwhile, have plummeted by roughly 45 percent since Election Day. Stelter’s show was down 44 percent since then and was off 52 percent over the past two weeks, compared to the first three weeks of 2021.
It also pointed out that more than 5 million people have downloaded Newsmax’s smartphone app since Election Day.
“The bottom line: Newsmax is here to stay. That’s good news for Americans who desperately want fresh, independent voices, but bad news for establishment giants like Fox News and CNN.”
No wonder they’re worried in Congress, in Silicon Valley and CNN’s headquarters.
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