Thread by @farhip

It’s debatable whether ratings matter one bit at a time when people are dying and there’s a GLOBAL health crisis to deal with.

But since he brought it up, let’s check a few numbers with Mr. Nielsen. These claims could stand some perspective.

Ready?

More....

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1244320570315018240

First, the White House briefings *are* widely watched, relatively speaking. Highest figure here is ~12.4 million viewers across all three cable news networks (the broadcast networks have been showing bits and pieces live and aren’t included here).

The next question is: Compared to what? Yes, the collective audience (12.4 million) rivals “Monday Night Football.” But “MNF” airs in “normal” times. These aren’t “normal” times.

So, what else are they comparable to?

Well, how about news programming? How about the evening newscasts that the briefings sometimes air against?

And by this measure the briefings are hardly a “hit.” In fact, the audience for the briefings is small compared to the evening newscasts:

So, 12.8 million or so watch the briefings—and more than *32 million* watch the three leading network newscasts (I don’t have ratings for PBS, Univision and Telemundo, which add many millions more).

What to conclude? A few ideas:

1. People overwhelmingly prefer the news to be packaged in a concise, understandable manner, which is what TV newscasts try to do. They’re certainly curious about what the president and experts have to say, but they’re flocking to familiar sources.

2. Despite Trump’s constant hammering of the “fake news,” millions clearly have rejected this rhetoric. In fact, there’s something else:

3. They seem to *prefer* network news—aka, the “lamestream media”—to the unfocused, unfiltered briefings that usually precede it. In other words...

4. In relative terms, Trump live *isn’t* a hit at all. He’s actually grossly underperforming the competition.

Thanks and stay safe!