Not who/what you may think . . . from the BBC . . .
The cable news networks have seen a dramatic increase in viewers as a result of the Iraq war.
FOX?!? :Q
WHO DID YOU LIKE?
(BBC for me, actually)
The cable news networks have seen a dramatic increase in viewers as a result of the Iraq war.
In the fierce battle for viewers among the competing television news organisations, it has been Fox News Channel, the cable network controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, that has been the big winner.
Fox News, which puts a patriotic spin on the news and became the largest cable news channel in 2002, increased its number of viewers by 300% to average 3.3 million daily viewers during the conflict.
It was a remarkable achievement for the channel, which was only started in 1996.
CNN was second, with 2.65 million, while rival MSNBC, which is owned by the television network NBC, had 1.4 million - the biggest gain, in percentage terms (350%), for the smallest of the cable news stations.
MSNBC copied many features of Fox News, adding conservative commentators, a US flag on screen, and a special section called "America's Bravest" where viewers could send pictures of their loved ones serving in the armed forces in Iraq.
Networks suffer
The big losers, meanwhile, were the TV network's nightly news programmes, which actually lost two million viewers - or 10% - during the same period, after an initial increase in the first few days.
Only NBC, which may have benefited from cross-promotion from its cable channel, was able to stem the decline.
In previous wars, viewers had turned to the trusted anchors like CBS's Dan Rather, ABC's Peter Jennings, and NBC's Tom Brokaw, to interpret the news.
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FOX?!? :Q
WHO DID YOU LIKE?
(BBC for me, actually)
