Issue Statement:

January 2021 was one for the books in terms of viewership numbers for CNN News, reflecting the transition of power from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration. Despite this, in the post-Trump era, CNN News ratings have, and will, continue to fall. CNN needs to increase viewership on their channel by increasing advertisements, focusing on hot-button issues, and shifting the way that their news is collected.

Discussion Background:

Viewership for CNN News has gone significantly down in the past several weeks. According to a Variety analysis, the downturn in ratings can be attributed to a lack of news coverage on former president Donald Trump since President Biden’s inauguration in January. Networks that have consistently rallied against the Trump Administration the past few years have attracted a large variety of energized anti-Trump viewers, and the main attraction for these supporters have dwindled since the shift in Presidential administration.

To put things into context, on January 4th through 8th, CNN 8 o’clock news saw an average of 5.19 million viewers. On January 25th through 29th, CNN viewership dropped to just above 2 million viewers. This is roughly a 44 percent drop. During this same time period, other news stations such as MSNBC and Fox only reported a slight drop in viewership, ranging from 3 to 18 percent.

CNN has gained notoriety in the past four years through an angle that promotes facts over biased and inaccurate news. The #FactsFirst campaign that CNN promoted in late 2017 rose in popularity from its “Apples vs. Bananas” commercial, an ad that highlighted the importance of facts being broadcasted on a news station without being colored by emotions or bias.

Recently, however, CNN has also gained notoriety through remarks made by prominent anchors criticizing Donald Trump, his supporters, and their policies— which then would go “viral” on social media sites and drive traffic towards the channel. For example, after the Presidential Debate with Trump and Biden, CNN anchor Jake Tapper called the debate a “hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck,” and insinuated that Trump was the sole candidate to blame. Anchor Anderson Cooper also later compared former President Trump to an “obese turtle, flailing on its back in the hot sun.” Both the #FactsFirst campaign and the unfiltered remarks from CNN Anchors were successful in driving ratings up for the station. These two angles, however, could prove contradicting for critics of the station, because one promotes facts over emotion, and the other promotes emotion over facts. #BoycottCNN is a hashtag that has been tossed around social media sites because of this, and could be another reason why ratings have begun to drop for the network.

Options and/or Recommendations:

• Create a new campaign, much like #FactsFirst, that reiterates the importance of facts and unbiased news. Center the campaign around the concept of unity, moving forward, and holding all members of government accountable regardless of political affiliation. Promote the campaign on all social media sites, as well as the Anchors’ personal accounts. Lastly, create another simple, attention-grabbing commercial (similar to the Apple vs Banana commercial), that is a sort of continuance of the previous commercial.

• Potential Gain— The transition of power from former president Donald Trump to current president Joe Biden has created a new “era” for Americans. Hope, unity, and transparent information is something many are craving in this new time.

• Potential Drawbacks— Anti-Trump viewers who tuned into CNN for coverage surrounding his administration may find this approach less entertaining.

• Continue releasing news of Donald Trump and his supporters. When the insurrection at the capitol occurred in early January, viewership ratings skyrocketed. Polarization of Americans based on political party is still extremely prevalent in society, and parties from all sides of the aisle are still in conflict with each other. Highlight new events surrounding this, but present this information in a way that reiterates the new campaign surrounding unity and moving forward together.

• Potential Gain— People might be still interested in Trump and his supporters, as their agenda is far from halting.

• Potential Drawbacks— People may be tired of seeing an old President making headlines.

• Develop and implement a program for young kids interested in politics and news. Create an unbiased, kid-friendly news website for kids to stay up-to-date on current affairs (CNNKids). Increase promotions for the current internship positions that will begin in 2021. Air a small segment on each news hour that encourages college-aged students to apply for “an internship of a lifetime.” Highlight the importance of kids being involved in the world around them.

• Potential Gain— If kids become passionate about news, particularly CNN’s news, there is a whole other demographic that will tune into CNN.

• Potential Drawbacks— Advertising is key for this option to work. There needs to be a strategic marking plan in place to make sure this idea takes off.

Suggestion:

CNN needs to implement a new, energizing movement like the #FactsFirst campaign. A subtle rebranding of their goals and values will change and/or compliment the mindset of citizens who are adjusting to the new President Biden era. This option also polled the strongest out of a selected group of individuals in a survey.