Other Crap

NBC had its worst ratings week in history

Their moms must be so proud.

NBC's most-watched program of the week, Monday's edition of "Deal or No Deal," was seen by 11 million people and ranked No. 23 for the week. Only one other NBC show, "ER," was in Nielsen's top 30.

The times, they are a changin'. The networks and newspapers will continue to struggle to hold ratings and advertisers against cable, radio, and the internet. If those competitors weren't formidable enough, Tivo isn't making advertisers any happier. It'll be rough sledding ahead for the old media. They lost me years ago. I rarely watch TV and haven't looked at a newspaper in two years. The internet is faster, and covers everything in much more depth with a greater diversity of perspectives.

In 1995, 62% of Americans said they watched network news daily. In just a decade that has dropped to 35%. In the same period, the number of people who read newspapers daily has dropped from 54% to 44%. During the same period, the internet has gone from 2% to 22%, and talk radio has increased from 12% to 22%.

I think you could make a case that America is becoming more polarized as a result. People are migrating away from sources which attempt to be neutral and objective and toward sources with more pointed perspectives. (I think it's fair to say that talk radio leans right and the internet leans left.)