Politics

Out of context: Reply #20337

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  • nb6

    Let's take a moment to consider how insane things are for Fox News right now. They're in a tricky spot. This could be the end of them.

    Most likely scenario: Hillary wins. Fox News had a really tough time when Romney lost. They had been saying the polls are wrong, and that Romney could win, and when he didn't, they lost a ton of viewers. Can they survive a Hillary win if they keep telling everyone that polls don't matter and that Trump has a chance? What will happen to their viewership? So, they have to be asking themselves in high-level meetings: If we can't make Hillary lose, what can we do right now to prevent losing viewers if she wins? The obvious answer to this question is: "Let's stop telling people Trump has a chance of winning." But if they start doing that right now, they're going to start losing viewers right now.

    And where are those viewers going to go? Well, what a coincidence: Trump just named the head of Breitbart his "CEO". If Fox News turns against Trump, Trump supporters are going to move to Breitbart. It's already happening, but only in small numbers.

    So what should Fox do? Keep on telling everyone that Trump has a chance? For that to work, they actually NEED Trump to win. Say what you want about Fox News, but the people in charge – managers, executives, etc – didn't get to where they are by ignoring the numbers.

    So let's say they bite the bullet and start distancing themselves from Trump. What happens when Trump loses the election? All the Trump supporters (aka Fox viewers) immediately will blame Fox News for not supporting the candidate. How do I know? Because Breitbart and other right-wing competitors of Fox will jump at the opportunity to blame Fox News for the loss, and steal their viewers. And it's an easy story to sell. Everyone looks for someone to blame when their candidate loses.

    Right now, for Fox, there is no way out. It's like a big chess game and they've backed themselves into a corner.

    AND HERE IS THE CRAZY PART:

    Breitbart just pulled off an amazing move. An unbelievable one. As I just explained, if Trump loses they're going to pick up tons of Fox viewers, no matter how Fox decides to spin the next few weeks.

    Bannon positioning himself as CEO of the losing campaign is brilliant.

    And in the highly unlikely event that Trump wins? Breitbart gets to say, "Yeah, we did that. Bannon is a genius and turned around the campaign. So come on over and watch our brand new news network: the Breitbart News Network."

    No matter what happens between now and November, Breitbart comes out the other end a big winner.

    • Sorry for the length. I need to get a life.nb
    • and will likely start a new Tea Party 2.0Ramanisky2
    • I think it's all positioning for a Trump News Network.bulletfactory
    • @nb - no apology needed - you write and rationalise it all v.well - keep em coming.fadein11
    • Maybe! Trump loves to be on TV.nb
    • yerp .. TNN .. its so transparentRamanisky2
    • Fascinating.monospaced
    • I don't think they have too much to worry about, anyone who cares about facts would have stopped watching a long time ago.yuekit
    • In the long run they are doomed because their audience is dying off. I think I read somewhere average Fox viewer is about 70 years old.yuekit
    • I am baffled as to how you manage to care so much. Fuck TV newsterry_cloth
    • It's possible to be interested in things that you don't like, terry.nb
    • lol @ Terry whinging about someone caring when he has a psychotic episode over pretty much anything posted on here.fadein11
    • Also, I wonder if Manafort resigning has anything to do with this theory.nb
    • Fox dominates cable news for the 25-54 demographic. Only Hannity has been the consistent pro-Trump supporter on their staff.IRNlun6
    • Remember Megan Kelly's very vocal spat with Trump, and subsequent promotion and support from the organization.IRNlun6
    • The larger trend in cable news is the overall decrease in viewership towards more social media outlets. A place that Breitbart is well positioned in.IRNlun6
    • All cable media is highly biased regardless of political affinity.IRNlun6
    • So, are you saying Fox is biased for, or against, Trump?monospaced
    • Nb, you don't seem to like them very much either which is why I find it strange that you pay so much attention to them. Fadein, you never do miss an opportunityterry_cloth
    • To try to insult me, you do realize that your constant attempts to make it personal reflect more on you than they do on me. Whatever makes you happy, I'll be thterry_cloth
    • -e vicarious target of your buttfrustrations if that makes you feel goodterry_cloth
    • Of course I don't like Fox News. But I'm very interested in the media landscape. I feel like this is not a difficult position to understand.nb
    • just seems like a whole lot of conjecture and strategizing over an organization who's goals don't align with yours, the news media caters to the worst parts interry_cloth
    • all of us, the only way to get the news to stop sensationalizing tragedies and giving people like trump attention is to tune out. if you dislike fox as much asterry_cloth
    • you say you do then the logical step would be to not give them any of your time and attention. it's like all the anti-trumpers who constantly talk about the guyterry_cloth

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