I am not sure whether to laugh at or feel extremely sorry for Media Matters, but I get this visual in my head of a little Toy Yorkie nipping at the heals of a Great Dane, knowing that the bigger dog won't even notice the tiny lil thing biting it's ankle but also knowing if the big one decided to pay attention it would literally crush the toy pup with one paw.Bring. It. On.
The liberal group Media Matters has quietly transformed itself in preparation for what its founder, David Brock, described in an interview as an all-out campaign of “guerrilla warfare and sabotage” aimed at the Fox News Channel.
For years liberals and progressives have waged this war on Fox News and what has it gotten them?
As of April 2010, Fox had hit #1 for it's 100th consecutive month as the top cable news network. (Source, Huffington Post)
In primetime (8-11PM), Fox News averaged 1.92 million total viewers (485,000 A25-54) to take first place; MSNBC came in second with 785,000 total viewers (239,000 A25-54). CNN came in third in total viewers with 596,000, beating HLN's 512,000; in the A25-54 demo, however, HLN placed third with 166,000 to CNN's 148,000.
As of February 2011, Fox News reached the distinction of being on top for 9 years, beating out MSNBC and CNN combined.
As of March 2011, this month, Fox News is still leading the pack with over two times the viewership nightly as any other cable news channel. (Source, TV Newser)
In some views, the war between Media Matters and Fox is not, necessarily, bad for either side. Media Matters has transformed itself into a pillar of the progressive movement with its aggressive new brand of media campaigning. And the attacks cement Fox’s status on the right.
“Fox is happy about it — and it makes their position more vivid among their supporters,” said Paul Levinson, a media studies professor at Fordham University. “One way of keeping your core supporters happy is to be attacked by people your core supporters don’t like.”
Game On.
PS. With media Matters watching everything Fox News does, doesn't that mean even more viewers for Fox?
Win/Win for Fox News.
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