The End of Newsweek?

As many of you know, the Liberals (capital "L") at Newsweek chose Easter week to launch a cover story on how Christianity in facing its end in America. Brent Bozell answered this story better than I could:

"Newsweek greeted the coming of Easter with a black cover, and the headline "The Decline and Fall of Christian America," spelled out in red in the shape of a cross. Inside, it was more declarative: "The End of Christian America." Why? Because they found that the percentage of self-identified Christians had fallen 10 points since 1990. OK, then let's compare. How much has Newsweek's circulation fallen since 1990? Just since 2007, their announced circulation has dropped by 52 percent. It would be more plausible to state "The End of Newsweek."

At the end of 2007, Newsweek reduced its "base rate" (or circulation guaranteed to advertisers) from 3.1 million to 2.6 million, a 16 percent drop. At the end of 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported that Newsweek, faced with an estimated 21 percent decline in ad pages, could soon drop that circulation number by another 500,000 to 1 million readers. In February, the magazine confirmed the million-issue drop, saying it would drop to a base of 1.9 million in July and 1.5 million readers by January 2010. [Blogger Note: So circulation went from 3.1 Million in the beginning of 2007, to 1.5 Million by next January, more than 50% of Newsweek subscribers ran for the exits.]

...Newsweek's strategy in the midst of all its financial decline is to double and triple the amount of editorializing, cast aside all semblance of "news" in favor of long, liberal essays by self-impressed Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and his international editor Fareed Zakaria. Is that really a business solution, or is it the captains performing violin solos on the deck of the Titanic? [Blogger Note: Bonus points for Brent on the Nearer My God to Thee reference.]

...All this leads back to the sneaking suspicion that the top minds at Newsweek think they are the wisest of men, the definers of trends and the shepherds of public opinion. So why is everyone abandoning their advice? Why are the captains of a magazine that's lost half its circulation telling the rest of us where the mainstream lies?"

I have a feeling in 2010 the Liberals are going to see where this mainstream lies.

Connecting the Dots at NBC: Brian Williams, Chris Matthews & Keith Olbermann

Doe anyone else find it very coincidental that on Sunday, Sept. 7th, Charlie Gibson was awarded the first, coveted, exclusive Sarah Palin interview, and on that same day Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann were booted out of MSNBC’s political anchor desk?

Here is how I believe this played out. When the interview was awarded to ABC, high ranking officials, maybe even Brian Williams himself, called the McCain campaign questioning the campaign’s decision. The McCain campaign told them that Olbermann’s and Matthews’ extreme bias and blatant, prolonged attacks on Palin prevented them from having any consideration for the interview.

Williams, when he heard that frick and frack’s antics cost him the exclusive, blew a gasket and to keep their World News Anchor happy corrective actions were taken by NBC. The corrective action is now that only Brian Williams will be sitting in the political anchor desk to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

I also believe that Brian Williams must look at these two with suspect, as not being true journalists, which makes their contributions to the lost of this interview even more unpalatable.

Chris Matthews came from the political world, Jimmy Carter/Tip O’Neill, and is a beer-drinking, armchair politician who does not have sophisticated reporter credentials. Keith Olbermann came from a sporting network, and does not have any sophisticated political credentials. This must have killed Brian Williams.

Jon Stewart of the Daily Show must have irked William even more that weekend when considering how the network has lost control of everything, including its anchors, asked:

"Is there no control?" host Jon Stewart asked him. "`Is it `Lord of the Flies?'"

A sheepish Williams said that every family has a dynamic of its own.

"But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?" Stewart said."