NYT Columnist David Brooks Cheers Cable News' Ratings Decline: ‘I’m Thrilled'
New York Times columnist David Brooks heralded cable news' declining ratings as a signal for renewed humility in politics, arguing that people are avoiding their televisions because they’re tired of overpoliticization.
In a conversation with PBS NewsHour, Brooks and MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart discussed politics' post-election reckoning as audiences flee different news mediums. Moderator Lisa Desjardins said a poll she conducted on 2024’s political word of the year overwhelmingly landed on “exhaustion,” leading her to spin the question on her guests. “What do you think the political word is for you?”
“I have to say, I’m thrilled by the decline in viewership for political news,” Brooks said. “We’re over-politicized in this country. People go to politics for a sense of belonging, for a sense of righteousness. You should go to your friends for those things. You’re asking more of politics than politics can bear.”
Brooks said his word of the year was “chastened,” arguing on Friday that the left needed to accept some humility as their policy positions were rejected.
“For those of us who oppose Donald Trump, we should be chastened because of the plurality of the American people thought we were wrong,” he said. “If you’re a worshiper of the European social welfare model, you should be chastened, because that’s falling apart. If you hated Bibi Netanyahu, you should be a little chastened, because he took down Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad.”
Cable news ratings have largely plummeted since last month’s election, with both CNN and MSNBC facing double-digit declines as viewers flock elsewhere. The Rachel Maddow Show faced its lowest ratings in years, while CNN’s year-end average in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic reached its lowest total ever. Fox News, however, has seen its ratings surge by double digits since Donald Trump won reelection.
Capehart agreed that exhaustion played a role in the ratings decline, earnestly admitting his own MSNBC show’s numbers had tumbled. But those numbers followed a trend from past presidential elections, he said, and they should bounce back after Inauguration Day.
“Mine have fallen. I am not ashamed to say that,” Capehart said. “And we chalk that up to exhaustion. It’s been a long two years. We chalk that up to people just needing a break, to your point. People need a break.”
