‘CBS Evening News’ Viewership Drops Below 4 Million After Tony Dokoupil’s Colorful Start

It’s coming from YouTube and podcasters.

I would disagree. I think the gradual dissolution of "official" news sources will have profound affect on our government. The watchdogs we used to rely upon to keep it check are gradually dying off. Media is fracturing into 10,000 little sources. Each tiny source has a fraction of the audience, resources, expertise, official access, etc that old school newspapers and TV networks have. Or had perhaps? The Oregonian, which was *The Newspaper* in Portland Oregon, is a fraction of itself. I'm not even sure they are creating a print version anymore. Most of the other local newspapers like The Mercury or even the Willamette Week have drastically shrunk or simply folded. Local journalism is dying out. David Simone once said he'd take online journalism seriously when bloggers reported on zoning board meetings. But now it seems like actual newspapers aren't reporting on them either. National presences, like CBS News, ABC News, The New York Times, or CNN, are going the same direction. They are a unifying force for what people would consider "news" or even "reality." They have strong reach into the world, storied history, good production values, the resources to follow a story for months or longer. And they have a good barrier between their reporting and their editorializing. They try to avoid incorporating a point of view and just let the facts speak for themselves. All that combined means they can speak with some authority. People will take them seriously and at least consider what was reported to be accurate. But not for much longer. The Washington Post just went through a deep series of staff cuts. A lot of CNN's website these days seems to be devoted to product reviews. Much of the strong "journalism" of both doesn't exist anymore. Our guideposts for what is happening in the world, especially in our government, are gradually dissipating. I worry that in 30 years we'll be left with 100,000 citizen journalists who lack the training, discipline, time, support, and access to do any real reporting. Someone who hosts a youtube channel in their spare time won't be able to do that. How would such a person cultivate the sources and knowledge they need to keep the government honest and in check while holding down a day job as a mechanic, lawyer, or barber? Would they be introspective on how their beliefs could influence how they perceive the "facts." Probably not. I suspect in the end most national news sources will be effectively a government puppet or something like it. They'll be a tool for billionaires or wannbes to promote their point of view. Relentlessly and with little competition. A lot of our national institutions are already there. I am thrilled by the content people are creating on youtube. One of my favorite shows is a British marketing consultant who "reports" on politics in Europe. His channel is fascinating. I'm learning about all sorts of things that I'd never be exposed to otherwise and as far as I can tell he does a good job trying to be fair and describe reality accurately. But how would I know if he was putting his thumb on the scale? Or just simply making things up? I wouldn't. I worry about our future.

I’m 53 and I get all my news from the Atlantic, propublica, salon, and the BBC nowadays. I don’t watch the news, ever.

The real “get” for them was TikTok as far as the messaging and propaganda goes. They are deeply uncool though so I reckon they’ll run that into the ground as well.

They shit all over the legacy media and call it fake news then take it over and freak out when it tanks.

Nearly 75 year old here. Running from this shit faster than my feet can go. And I am not alone. Go after the idea or deeds, not the age

Pretty much. Turns out shitting on the internet and bloggers doesn't endear you to an audience born on it. And when you can't even do your job and report the news accurately, you are basically superfluous to society 

Yup - and it makes that $111 B that Larry Ellison is dropping on WB look like the absolute worst deal ever

Well you know those plumbing videos are useful, unlike CBS now

Oi she’s chock a block, mate! But I love it

I haven't watched any plumbing videos on YouTube and that's still more plumbing videos than CBS News.

Let’s get Mister German in there! Cmon ya good thing!!

Haha, wheel and jeopardy are on the ABC where I live... syndication for the win. I also watch drain cleaning videos way more than CBS.

You know you're in bad shape when PBS matches your ratings (That's my preferred television news outlet, as it happens)

Hard working people who share their knowledge how. Lawn mower repair guy addict here.

Hell yeah!

Honestly, yes. The goal is to delegitimize the news, 60 Minutes in particular, so that when Trump/Republicans say things that are counter to fact, idiots will assume the news is lying and the politicians are being honest.

Yes. Regressives are funneling their lie and fear machine through the even less regulated (and now way more popular than tv) podcasts and reels.

NPR has gone very soft on Trump policies this term compared to the first. They "play along" with what's going on more than before. I have heard more friends complain about NPR in the last year than I have heard in my entire lifetime. They're still better than most, but the decline is noticeable.

I thought that they lost their funding? Glad that they still exist and I hope that they don’t get turned into this shit as well.

With Terry Gross

Blue wave and DINOs getting primaried in Nov, barring massive vote manipulation, which they are trying.

bravo that's very good

If you support Trump, you’re worse than a dump

Same way that white plantation owners, a tiny percentage of the population, convinced all the poor white southerners that slavery was a great idea, even though it was A) not and B) actually wrecked everyone else economically. It's not about anyone but them.

He essentially said they were going to stop listening to experts and academics and were going to focus on presenting the voice of the average American. Sounds like quite the approach.

Colorful in the sense it’s gone poorly. He went on a weird national tour and no one cared.

They're sure not f****** each other!