Not a single show on CNN could reach one million viewers in the past week, a decline that is both highly symbolic of its collapsing credibility and financially meaningful to advertising rates.  Its behavior this week suggests that the situation will only get worse.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn of rival Fox News gleefully reports:

According to Nielsen data, the scandal-plagued network has gone an entire week without reaching 1 million viewers from July 28 to August 3, further solidifying the liberal outlet's struggle to carry on without Donald Trump in the White House.

Chris Cuomo, CNN's star anchor who was swept up in the explosive report from New York Attorney General Letitia James that outlined damning sexual harassment allegations against his brother Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, received a minimal ratings bump on Tuesday night as viewers were curious as to whether or not he would address the controversy, receiving roughly 100,000 viewers more than he did Monday. Cuomo ultimately avoided the scandal altogether on his program, which garnered only 930,000 viewers. 

Keep in mind that Cuomo's show is CNN's highest-rated program, and at 872,000 average for the week could only draw 38% of the audience of Hannity, 2.3 million for the week, and 44% of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's 1.6 million.  That's what is called "distant third."

Even President Biden himself failed to hand CNN a ratings victory when the network hosted a town hall moderated by Don Lemon last month. 

The town hall, which averaged only 1.5 million viewers, was beaten by almost every Fox News and MSNBC primetime program. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" earned 2.87 million viewers in the same timeslot.

There are lots of reasons beyond CNN's singular focus on attacking Donald Trump why viewers are deserting it.  Jeffrey Toobin returned to its programming after being unmasked for masturbating during a zoom call with colleagues.  Who wants to watch someone that icky pontificate on serious legal issues?  It's a joke.

Also a joke: Lt. Col. (ret.) Alexander Vindman, whose testimony led to acquittal in President Trump's absurd second impeachment trial, pontificated for CNN viewers on COVID fatalities:

pic.twitter.com/tik60bfiFB

— Rich Weinstein (@phillyrich1) August 4, 2021

It's not as if CNN's spectacular decline and fall (Matt Margolis says that viewership has declined 73% since January) have led to any introspection.  Quite the opposite: the network is doubling down on stupid...and totalitarian.  The New York Times reports:

CNN said on Thursday that it had fired three employees who violated its coronavirus safety protocols by going to the office unvaccinated, one of the first known examples of a major American corporation's terminating workers for ignoring a workplace vaccination mandate.

That move surely will lead to a more conformist staff, people who will not challenge anything the bosses declare.  That's not how a news organization gets at the truth.

And the lack of regard for the truth is what really ails CNN.

How much longer will its corporate parent, AT&T, tolerate this slow-motion suicide?

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