*Picture tuning into CNN and finding Don Lemon on in the time slot Anderson Cooper occupies.
According to TheWrap.com, that’s the way the network should position itself if it wants to regain its foothold at the top of the cable TV News ratings.
Examining the issue, the site cited Lemon’s recent antics, which included the TV anchor brazenly flashing a giant N-word sign, asking viewers if it offended them on Monday as well as “commanding a poignant segment in Charleston, South Carolina following a gun massacre and asking guests if aliens swallowed a missing jetliner.” Coupled with engaging in shouting matches with rappers and advising a Bill Cosby alleged rape victim on penis-biting as a method of rape prevention, it’s safe to say that Lemon is proof for many that CNN has favored sensationalism over straight news reporting.
For that and the bashing Lemon receives on social media and from news purists, the site labels the former weekend anchor as “the Donald Trump of TV news: a personality who tosses his impressive resume out the window in favor of putting on a riveting circus show.”
Apparently, Lemon is living up to the title as he continues to keep CNN on people’s radars since graduating to primetime in 2014 as the host of “CNN Tonight.” According to TheWrap, Lemon’s use of the N-word on Monday resulted in his show being first in the highly valued 25-54 demographic on all of CNN and MSNBC with 188,000 viewers.
Lemon’s ability to garner ratings was also in effect in November as he covered the protests in Ferguson by beating many Fox News shows with 423,000 viewers while attracting 869,000 total viewers as he came in third among all cable news shows in the younger demo.
“Executives and executive producers love it because he brings numbers and attention,” one CNN insider told TheWrap. “Some producers think it’s grandstanding–he’s playing a role, ruins serious conversations and is self-serving.”
With Lemon proving to be a ratings winner among young viewers, TheWrap’s article believes CNN would be wise to move him to Cooper’s 8 p.m. slot in an effort to take back the cable news top spot from Fox News one day.
“FNC (Fox News Channel) has the oldest audience in cable news, nearing 70–CNN has the youngest at 58. In 2013, when Zucker started as CNN president and started implementing a hybrid original series and more buzzworthy news strategy, FNC shed viewers in primetime, posting its lowest total viewer audience in six years and its lowest younger viewer audience in 12,” the site mentioned.
“More telling, based on the last two presidential elections, the country is moving to the left and showing few signs of reversing course in 2016, potentially making Fox’s predominantly conservative audience more niche over the next decade.”
While Anderson Cooper is a certified fixture on CNN and still regarded as “one of the best pure news reporters in the business, reporting around the world during breaking news.” TheWrap points out that “he’s never been appointment TV, “ a view that makes a difference in an age where “drawing attention on Twitter, digital sites and shows like “The View” are as important as the day-to-day ratings numbers, CNN would be better served with a noisemaker who can also do the news in its most important time slot.”
For more of TheWrap’s analysis on Lemon’s being CNN’s key to being back on top, click here.
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