By Christopher B. Daly
Today’s Times has an interesting (though somewhat thin) story about the relationship between president Obama and Fox News.
One thing caught my eye:
But now, with the presidential campaign entering its most competitive phase, the simmering tensions between Mr. Obama and the country’s highest-rated news channel threaten their fragile détente.
Problem is, Fox News is NOT the “country’s highest-rated news channel.” It is the highest-rated cable news channel, with about 1.3 million viewers. But it comes nowhere near the size of even the lowest-rated broadcast news channel. And it is still a tiny fraction of the combined audiences of ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS, which have well over 20 million viewers in all.
(Yes, there is a bit of an apples/oranges issue here, but, come on: Fox is in a different universe from the broadcast networks.)
(A further thought: in a nation of 300+ million people, does Fox News with 1.3 million viewers deserve the attention it gets?)
Prof Chris Daly's Blog 
Thanks for making that very important distinction, one that I believe has been lost on many of us, frankly, as FOX has pumped up this propaganda to further its legitimacy.
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I’m not aware that there are any broadcast news channels, let alone any with millions of viewers a day. Perhaps you can identify these broadcast stations that air news 24 hours a day.
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Point well taken. That’s why I acknowledged that there was a bit of an apples-and-oranges problem. Still, I think Fox ratings need to be put into context.
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