WATCH OUT FOX NEWS: Tony Snow joins CNN
Posted by: Editorial Staff | 04/21/2008 6:21 PM
I saw this little nugget of disappointing news about CNN securing the services of Tony Snow.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former White House press secretary Tony Snow will join CNN as a conservative commentator beginning Monday.
CNN president Jon Klein announced that Snow, a long-time political observer with a longstanding news background, will contribute to CNN as the network continues to broadcast winning political coverage.
Lately I noticed I have a wondering eye and frequently find myself spending more time on CNN than on Fox. For years I watch nothing but Fox and like a longtime girlfriend, Fox has been steady and reliable. But CNN is fresh, hot, and new... especially in HD!
I have said many times that if one of the cable news networks began to broadcast in HD, that channel would begin to dominate. HD is just SO much more pleasant to watch that even second rate content is becomes tolerable.
Last week, the Dish Network began broadcasting CNN in HD. This, combined with new graphics, new sets, Tony Snow, and that fancy iPhone-looking jumbo screen that John King uses to analyze different election scenarios will probably erode some of the ratings dominance enjoyed by Fox News.
Don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of Fox News and appreciate why they came to dominate the cable news arena. But things change. I have spent years watching a billion rotations of that Fox News logo in the bottom left corner of my television and it got "old" long ago. Yes, it would be nice if content was the only thing that mattered, but it's not. Presentation matters too and I hope Fox News has the foresight to not get too comfortable in its leadership position... especially during this important election year.
UPDATE: 04/23/2008
On a lark, we sent an e-mail to Fox News big wig, Roger Ailes regarding our concern that Fox News would experience ratings erosion if it didn't keep up with CNN and begin broadcasting in high definition. We received a response indicating Fox News would be launching an HD feed beginning May 1st.
According to Warren Vandeveer, SVP of Operations and Engineering,
Unlike the CNN HD feed, we will fill the 16:9 screen at all times with high definition pictures or a combination of pictures and an informational wing that will be a value add to our high definition viewers.
Apparently, Time Warner Cable will be first out of the gate with the new Fox News HD feed. Other affiliates are lining up fast. Contact your local HD service provider for more information.
The 'Clinton' loans were done long before this mess & would have had a significant impact long ago...
...and in that regard, CNN has smoked Fox all year long in election coverage. Their voting map which takes you all the way down to the county level to see how things are breaking down is awesome-- makes Fox look like a bunch of pikers. If Fox were a stock, it would be a huge short right now.
Hannity and Colmes are tired, Dick Morris isn't credible anymore due to his anti-Hillary crusade (beautiful though it may be), O'Reilly is a populist gasbag... awful, the whole thing. Time for a major overhaul. And have you seen their business channel? Unwatchable. Between the small-time, no-name, crackpot regulars and the silly settings, it looks like total kiddie-time compared to CNBC (which also has a better political show-- Kudlow & Co.-- than anything Fox has left. It's business/politics, but it is great).
Sorry, Fox isn't getting beating by slick presentations, it's getting clobbered by better content elsewhere.
The folks at Fox should thank their stars for MSNBC (and it's full-blown case of Obama Fever), whose content is the abosolute dregs. Without them, Fox might be at the bottom of the cable food chain today.