NEWS AND OPINION:
It has been a banner year for one network in the competitive, often chaotic media marketplace. Fox News has enjoyed its highest-rated year since it was founded 21 years ago, and has emerged as the leading influence in both politics and social media.
In terms of audience, the network is beating its news competition — along with everyone else in the cable realm.
At year’s end, Fox News marks its second consecutive year as the most-watched cable network of all according to Nielsen Media Research, besting ESPN, HGTV and other high-profile providers. In the news realm, Fox News now marks its 16th year at No. 1, garnering 2.4 million primetime viewers compared to 1.6 million for MSNBC and 1 million for CNN. Veteran primetime host Sean Hannity drew the largest audiences across all cable news programming, typically drawing 3.2 million viewers.
Meanwhile, early morning “Fox and Friends” co-hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade were named the “most influential” forces in media by none other than Mediaite.com, an industry blog which cited the trio’s popularity with President Trump, a regular viewer.
“That comes with wide-reaching consequences: very often a Fox and Friends segment can set the policy and media narrative for the day,” wrote analyst Aidan McLaughlin in his rationale of the choice.
Primetime hosts Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson made the top-10 on the extensive roster, which included competition from 65 people in broadcast, print and online journalism.
“Fox News has continued to prove its dominance in the television landscape despite many changes and one of the most intense news years on record. For a news channel to experience growth following an election year is unprecedented and we are grateful to our loyal viewers for once again making us the most-watched network in all of cable,” said Suzanne Scott, president of programming.
Fox News also dominated all-important social media, ranking as “the top news brand in total social engagement in the world” by Shareablee, an industry group measuring social outreach. Fox was also deemed “the top-tweeted news outlet for the year” by Twitter itself.
The online reach of Fox News Digital is gigantic. The network “had its most successful year ever across major metrics,” said Comscore, another industry group. This year, Fox enjoyed a 29 percent increase of total online visitors — 96 million people arrived at the Fox News website in October alone.
Fox Business Network also has good news, marking its first yearly win over CNBC with record ratings, according to Nielsen. Fox Business also broadcast five of the six top-rated programs of the year in all of business television.
“From the Dow all-time highs to the SNAP IPO, Fox Business News comes out on top when major business news breaks, proving that we have become not only the most watched but the most trusted source for business news,” noted Brian Jones, president of the network.
SOVIET NOSTALGIA
Even the pollsters themselves call it “nostalgia for the USSR.”
Six-out-of-10 Russians — 58 percent — now say they regret the collapse of the Soviet Union, a sentiment that has been increasing for almost a decade, according to the Levada Analytical Center, a Moscow-based non-governmental research center, which released the findings on Monday.
The sentiment was at it’s highest level in 2000, when three fourths of the nation said they regretted the circumstances — and at its lowest in 2012, when the number was 49 percent. The Levada Center has conducted 20 similar “Nostalgia Index for the USSR” polls, the first taken in March, 1992, only three months after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The survey also revealed that 26 percent of the respondents said they don’t regret the end of the USSR while 16 percent agreed that “it is difficult to say.” There are some specific things Russians regret the most about the collapse of the nation.
The most frequently mentioned loss was “the destruction of the unified economic system,” cited by 54 percent, followed by the fact that “people no longer felt like they were part of a world superpower,” the poll said — cited by 36 percent.
A third of the respondents noted the “increase in bitterness and mutual distrust” among the citizenry, while 26 percent mourned the disintegration of relationships with friends and relatives. A quarter missed the feeling that could be “at home” no matter where they were in the nation.
A majority of the respondents — 52 percent — said the fall of the Soviet Union “could have been avoided,” while 29 percent said it was inevitable and 19 percent were undecided.
The survey of 1,600 Russian adults was conducted Nov. 24-28, in 37 localities of 48 of the country’s regions.
The Moscow Times, meanwhile, offers a guide to “Soviet nostalgia” in Moscow, including visits to Cold War-era nuclear bunkers, shops selling products popular during the era and restaurants designed in the old style of communal apartments.
“Many of the new outlets sentimentalize the Soviet era as a time of innocence and simplicity,” noted Bradley Jardine, a writer for the news organization.
’NEVER TRUMP’ CONSERVATIVES URGED TO GET OVER IT
Those conservatives and Republicans who still oppose President Trump should rethink their cause advises one veteran political analyst.
“It is time for the remaining Never Trumpers to apologize for a reason far more important than self-castigation or merely to make things ’right.’ Donald Trump — whose initial victory was a shock, even, ironically, to those of us who predicted it — has compounded that shock by being astoundingly successful in his first year, especially at the conclusion. He’s a quick study, evidently. More conservative goals have been achieved or put in motion in eleven months than in any time in recent, or even distant, memory. It’s an astonishing reversal for our country accompanied by the beginnings of an economic boom,” writes columnist Roger L. Simon, founder of PJ Media.
“But that same success is causing, it’s becoming increasingly clear, an equally determined, even virulent, reaction from the left. At first they too thought Trump was an ineffectual blowhard who would shoot himself in the foot, ultimately redounding to their advantage. Now that they have found that not to be the case, they are in a state of panic, fearing a defeat for their ideals that would set them back years, even decades. They cannot let this stand and are marshaling all their forces from the media to Hollywood to the academy, not to mention at least some of the investigative units of the FBI,” Mr. Simon continues.
“The next year seems poised to be an ideological duel as close to the death as we have seen in a long time. If the right does not win, the gains of 2017 will be stymied by the election of 2018 and completely washed away in 2020. It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation and we need the Never Trumpers’ help. We need — to borrow a hoary leftist term — a united front,” says Mr. Simon.
“A war is coming — you can almost feel it in the air. We should all pray that it will be non-violent and work hard to keep it that way. But we should also have our ideological troops ready and prepared for that imminent battle for the hearts and minds. It’s going to be pivotal. Never Trumpers, please join. Past disagreements will be instantly forgotten and your skills immediately welcomed. I think you can depend on that.”
THE ’BEST RUN’ STATES IN THE NATION
“There is no one-size-fits-all formula for effective state governance, and in this way, no two states are exactly alike. Still, some states are managed far more proficiently than others. For the eighth year in a row, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed economic indicators, budget allocations, and balance sheets, in addition to a range of social measures to rank how well each state is run,” write Samuel Stebbins and Evan Comen, the analysts who pored over all that data for each and every state.
They examined state-run pension systems, unemployment rates, the presence of natural resources, tax revenues, household incomes, debt, crime rates and many other factors to make their determination. What states did it best?
Here are the top three:
Minnesota was in first place, thanks to a high median household income, strong tax base, the state’s very decent credit rating and other contributing influences. Utah followed in second place; the analysts cited the state’s expanding population, sustainable growth and healthy GDP plus a low unemployment rate.
Iowa was in third place with “one of the healthiest job markets in the country,” the analysts said, along with such additional factors as a low debt and some sizable “rainy day” funds.
Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, North Dakota, Idaho, Colorado and Hawaii round out the top-10.
Intrigued as to what constitutes a successful state? Find the complete analysis here.
This is an abbreviated Beltway Bulletin from Jennifer Harper, who is on vacation this week.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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