HOT TOPICS | The Mainstream Media Meltdown! - June 4th, 2025
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good morning, Lemon Nation. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Hot Topics and the Don Lemon Show. We're glad that you're here. You guys yesterday said live at five-ish. So can we call it live at 10-ish here? Because we're a little bit late, but we have a great guest for you. Wait till you see who we have. We're going to talk about what's happening in the news. By the way, make sure you hit the thumbs up. It does affect the algorithm. Hit the likes. It affects the algorithm. More people become aware of our conversation that I'm going to have with the great guests that you're about to see in moments and aware of our channel. So thank you for joining. Let's get to it. What is going on with the media and the mainstream media?
I hate that term because I believe that Republicans or conservatives sort of coined that term, but now it's in the vernacular. And so everyone says, what is going on with the mainstream media, especially cable news? Why are people tuning out in droves? We kind of discuss this on the show periodically, and people talk about mainstream media. The reason that you're here is because you want independent media. And so let's discuss what's going on. Because according to some of the reports, I'll just put up one real quick. Let's put up the Daily Beast first. It says that MSNBC metal replacement loses. And Jen Psaki, I love her, half of the viewers. I want to know why this is happening. Mediaite is saying MSNBC's new primetime lineup fails.
lands with a thud. And then the New York Post, and we'll continue to put some of this up, says 47% dip in ratings for MSNBC. And then it goes on to talk about CNN as well. CNN is in the same boat. Fox News has lost a few viewers, but not as many as the other cable networks. Let's bring in Oliver Darcy. He is the founder and the author of Status, a nightly newsletter covering the media industry. Oliver, thank you for joining us. and my former colleague and friend. Thanks for joining. How are you?
I'm excited to be here.
Thank you. Oliver, what is going on? 47% dip in ratings for MSNBC?
Yeah. Well, what happened here is the new chief of MSNBC, one of our former colleagues at CNN, actually, Rebecca Cutler, she has overhauled the MSNBC lineup. And and it hasn't it hasn't so far really resonated, it seems like with audiences.
Why are cable news ratings collapsing and who is most affected?
I mean, part of it is the fact that like Jen Psaki was never going to post Rachel Maddow numbers like there's one Rachel Maddow on Earth. And she's a unique talent who's gotten you know, she's been there for many, many years and amassed a really loyal audience. So like realistically, no matter who you put in that spot. they're not going to post better numbers than Rachel Maddow. That said, some of the other shows, you know, they haven't resonated the same way with viewers. I mean, Joy Reid was in that slot, and the new program is not rating the same way as Joy Reid was. And to some extent, too, you know, It's a new lineup, so it's going to take some time for audiences to get used to the new hosts.
You know how this is in Dawn and Cable News. Anytime there's a new host, it does take some time to build an audience, build a rapport. But... I'd say certainly not looking very good early on after these changes.
Is that fair? That was my question. You sort of answered it a bit. But is it fair because it is a new lineup? But the only thing I say to that is that the drop is... really kind of staggering. Usually a show might lose some of its ratings or a network might lose some of its ratings. But to be down, I think overall, 20 some percent and this quickly, especially when you're in a news cycle that you have now with Donald Trump doing something every minute providing the content for you. Is it fair or is this unusual? It's certainly unusual.
It's certainly unusual. It's not a good sign. No. And I think part of it, too, is the way in which Joy Reid was ousted from MSNBC led to a lot of people at least saying they were not going to watch, right? They were going to turn off the television during that hour or whatever. And so it had there been a more harmonious transition, let's say, between Joy Reid introducing her new successors
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:15–2:36
2
Why are cable news ratings collapsing and who is most affected?
2:36–9:02
3
How did MSNBC’s lineup change lead to a 47% ratings drop?
9:02–26:28
4
Is the loss of star anchors driving viewers to independent media?
26:28–33:07
5
Why are media executives and corporate owners blamed for newsroom decline?
33:07–55:43
6
Can legacy outlets adapt to creators, social video, and changing audience habits?
55:43–1:00:33
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Don Lemon Show
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