Trump weighs in
Speaking of the latest TV and cable news ratings, President Donald Trump weighed in, posting on Twitter, “Can’t believe how badly @CNN has done in the newly released TV ratings. They are so far below @FoxNews (thank you President Trump!) that you can barely find them. Fredo should be given a big pay cut! MSDNC also did poorly. As I have long said, Fake News does not pay!!!”
Again, it needs to be noted that there are, generally, two types of cable news viewers. Those who watch Fox News and those who do not. Those who do not often split their viewership between CNN and MSNBC. Therefore, a more accurate way to judge is by adding CNN and MSNBC viewership numbers. When you do that and compare them to Fox News, for the most part, the numbers are fairly even.
CNN Communications, however, did respond to Trump’s tweet with a sarcastic tweet of its own that said, “This is exhausting. But @PressSec says you can read and also consume intelligence verbally. So consider reading this or asking one of your staffers to read it aloud to you: Q2 of 2020 was the Most-Watched Quarter in CNN’s 40 Year History.”
It then linked to a press release that detailed the best viewership numbers it has had in its history.
Tweet of the day
And, finally, regarding Trump and tweets and cable news, Matthew Gertz of Media Matters for America tweeted this: “Some housekeeping: Trump had 67 live tweets in June, his highest total since January. Of those, 65 responded to Fox or Fox Business (the other two were CNBC and the infamous OAN tweet). Fox & Friends (14), America's Newsroom (10), and The Ingraham Angle (7) led.”
L.A. Times food editor steps away
Los Angeles Times food editor Peter Meehan announced on Twitter Wednesday that he is leaving the paper. He was cryptic in his announcement, although he referenced another Twitter thread from a freelance food writer who made accusations of inappropriate workplace behavior.
Meehan tweeted, in part, “Tweets on Monday alleged a number of things I don’t think are true, but they also compelled my staff to speak out. In my tunnel-vision commitment to making the best thing we could, I lost sight of people and their feelings.”
Meehan’s tweet went on to offer “non-PR apologies” to those he worked with, adding, “I’m sorry to everybody that I’ve let down directly or indirectly and the last I’ve ever wanted to be is some sort of institutionalized problem.”
The tweet thread from Monday that Meehan referenced said, among other things, “There have been multiple HR complaints about Peter Meehan @latimes, but it’s hard to believe any were investigated since I have been able to compile a mountain of testimonies in just a couple days from people who have worked with him and known him over the past decade.”
Keeping up with Jones
(Melissa Rawlins/ESPN Images)
One day after his old TV partner landed a new gig at ESPN, Bomani Jones signed a multiyear contract extension with the network. Jones will continue hosting his podcast, “The Right Time with Bomani Jones,” twice a week. In addition, ESPN said he will play a significant role on “Highly Questionable” with main host Dan Le Batard, appearing three to four days a week. He also will be seen regularly on “SportsCenter,” “Get Up,” “Outside the Lines,” “Around the Horn” and other shows.
Jones was the former co-host of “High Noon” with Pablo Torre, but that show was canceled earlier this year. On Tuesday, Torre was named the new host of the “ESPN Daily” podcast.
“High Noon” should have worked because Jones and Torre are so smart and talented and interesting. But odd time slots (an hour starting at noon Eastern and then it was moved to a half-hour at 4 p.m. Eastern) probably didn’t help. Anyway, it’s good to see ESPN continuing to commit to these two outstanding talents.
Pulitzer Prize winner dies
John Woestendiek, a longtime Philadelphia Inquirer journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting that helped exonerate a man wrongly convicted of murder, died last week from a number of health issues complicated by a stroke. He was 66.
Woestendiek won a Pulitzer in 1987 for a series of stories (the Inquirer reposted the main story here in 2009 — give it a look) about the teenage son of a motorcycle club member convicted of murder. Woestendiek’s work helped lead to a new trial and the ultimate freeing of the teenager.
In a story written by the Inquirer’s Bonnie L. Cook, former Inquirer executive editor Eugene L. Roberts said, “It was the most admirable piece of reporting I’d ever read. There was nothing showy about John — the opposite, really. He was rumpled, soft-spoken, self-effacing.”
Woestendiek went on to become a metro columnist at the Inquirer before leaving the paper in 2000. He went on to work at The Baltimore Sun and, after retiring from newspapers, wrote a blog and two books about dogs. He was writing his dog blog as recently as last month.
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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].
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