Viewers doing a 180 on Anderson Cooper's '360'

Kay Jones, a producer on CNN's Anderson Cooper's "AC360," recently blogged on the show's website that she "deserve[s] the month of May off." Well, she might as well take it because Cooper's fan base is doing just that already.

Cooper's ratings have been in a sharp decline all year, and so far the month of May is no exception. According to Nielsen, the audience for the 10-11 p.m. hour of his show so far this month is 933,000 viewers. This is the first time he's fallen below the one-million mark since the dog days of last August. Anderson is losing almost 20% of his lead-in from Larry King and is in danger of being passed in the ratings by MSNBC's 10 p.m. repeat of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Since the start of 2009, Cooper has lost one-third of his audience.

CNN has invested heavily into marketing Cooper as the face of the network. The hype has never really translated into commercial success, and now that MSNBC is suddenly competitive, CNN finds itself being flanked on the right and the left.

-- Joe Flint

Photo: Anderson Cooper. Credit: Andy Kropa / Associated Press

Comments

[Rog]

Correction: limiting their brain power to less than hard, fresh news!

[chris]

Anderson is highly skilled and his coverage of the 9th ward and Katrina is prize worthy. I agree with the other comments here. By the time AC360 comes on, Anderson has nothing to add. I am growing tired of the entire network though. In my opinion, they did an excellent job with the Presidential Election, but things have quickly deteriorated from the inauguration. Campbell Brown is bearable, Roland Martin is not. Larry King is rude to anybody who is not a rich celebrity and is just too difficult to even look at. We would never allow a woman to look that bad on TV (Barbara Walters mentioned this in so many words last week on his show). Anderson is quite talented, but it is obvious that he is fed up with everything and everybody (just like me). It all needs to be re-worked and overhauled. This might sound odd, but I'd like for David Gergen, Gloria Borger, and Jeffrey Toobin each to have their own shows. More from them might spruce things up a bit.

[Living In Liberal Bankrupt Ca]

IN YO FACE LIBS! Today was a beautiful day, Trump is a good guy and I'm glad he did the right thing. Lib issues are a losing issues! AC is just a cheerleader for libs and that's why he is going down with the rest of the libs. Libs cannot make it in radio and now having a hard time making in cable news. When the hate rears it's ugly head..people tend to tune out. VOTE NO TO EXTENDED TAXES, VOTE NO TO 1A through 1G.

[donal connolly]

bring back aaron brown. CNN got rid of the best newscaster

[JPG]

I as well have stopped watching as much CNN and have moved to MSNBC. There programming has become very bland .. They change the host every few hours but repeat the same stories all day long. People want to be entertained as well as informed .. If i have already heard the news for the day, then i rather watch MSNBC where they entertain more.

As a idea, I would like to see them mimic the sunday shows each night by picking a topic of discussion and having a roundtable of guests there to discuss it for a half hour or so, and put that in between each host so there is some space between the same news. and keep the discussions fresh .. it doesnt have to be a daily story about the crappy economy ,,, Im talking about a roundtable discussion on Nasa and the future of space flight, or a discussion on science, or a discussion on the school systems, or a discussion on how to keep handwritten newspapers relivant ,.. things like that.

[JPG]

I as well have stopped watching as much CNN and have moved to MSNBC. There programming has become very bland .. They change the host every few hours but repeat the same stories all day long. People want to be entertained as well as informed .. If i have already heard the news for the day, then i rather watch MSNBC where they entertain more.

As a idea, I would like to see them mimic the sunday shows each night by picking a topic of discussion and having a roundtable of guests there to discuss it for a half hour or so, and put that in between each host so there is some space between the same news. and keep the discussions fresh .. it doesnt have to be a daily story about the crappy economy ,,, Im talking about a roundtable discussion on Nasa and the future of space flight, or a discussion on science, or a discussion on the school systems, or a discussion on how to keep handwritten newspapers relivant ,.. things like that.

[PETE]

The funniest thing about this non story is the fact that several people have actually used the occasion to put in plugs for FIXED NEWS (AKA FOX NEWS). I assume if you are a conservative Republican die hard you would think the rubbish being dished out there is better. The real problem with CNN is its just plain repetitive.
Pete

[Newshound]

The decline in quality at CNN over the past decade has been more severe than our nation's economic free-fall. Cooper seems like a nice gentleman, but I'm not sure even he realizes what a sell-out-for-stardom he has become (unless he's watched himself faux-humbly pooh-poohing his teen idol status even after he flexes his muscles in work-out routines on Live with Regis and Kelly). Aside from being ridiculously sensationalistic and repetitive, his flagship show is devoid of pithiness or clarity (there must be a lot of sticky things dripping down the walls of those stages over there). News reports don't necessarily have to have a point of view, but they should at HAVE a point. CNN meanders, confuses, whizzes, whirs, flashes and zoinks, but it doesn't really inform. Don't the honchos there watch The Daily Show and hear how the audience howls at clips of CNN's reporting? Cooper must, because he's spoofed himself on The Daily Show (interviewing cute pets . . . meaning he DOES get it, which makes his catch phrase "We're Keepin' 'em Honest!" all the more tinny). Really, CNN is a total joke and waste of time . . . so very sad to someone who can imagine what real news they could produce with all their resources.

[mary]

If CNN wants me to start watching again, all they have to do is news...
and I don't mean repeat the same stuff over and over again. Gosh, there could be a national disaster and we wouldn't hear about it until the next morning, because they don't do anything new after the 1st hour of AC... and all he does is repeat the same stories from earlier programs.
Have AC start doing updated news, and we'll be back.

[Jen]

I agree with the majority of the comments above. I, too, am finding myself disappointedly switching the channel away from CNN. The reasons are as follows: (i) CNN has way too many commercial breaks and teasers leading into the commercial breaks. In one instance, I recall a story being teased and re-teased for almost 25 minutes, during which time at least 20 minutes of advertisements were broadcast! - it was so frustrating and irritating that I finally changed the channel. I was hoping this was a temporary phase, but increasingly, the number of commercials seem to outweigh the actual news coverage on a regular basis. (ii) CNN is becoming no better than the local sensationalized news networks, covering stories that fear monger; i.e missing persons, gruesome stories, and cheap sensationalized entertainment news stories. I watch the news for the news, not for the fear factor. I would like to be educated on world events and see journalists probing new and interesting topics for the truth that has not already been broadcast and rebroadcast ad nauseum. (iii) As Rog said above, CNN is trying to be entertaining news, which is not what its viewers are interested in. Captioning photos is irritating and trivial; technology is great, but I much prefer Rachel Maddow's non-glizty, hard-hitting reporting style. She uses humor but backs it up with in-depth information and interviews. (iv) Fareed Zakaria GPS is probably the best show on CNN right now. Bottom line: I highly respect Anderson Cooper and his journalistic abilities, but is seems as if he is somehow being held back by the forces that be. Given his own sense of what is news and what the American people really want and need to know, I think he could pioneer a much more hard-hitting and respected news program. As more and more people tune out to television and tune in to public radio and online news sources, it would seem apparent that the old-style of over-advertising and keeping the public entertained no-news model doesn't work anymore. This is different world in a different time.

[Marilyn Cox]

I think that CNN needs a West Coast bureau with a nightly news broadcast at the regular news time slot (10-11 p.m.) for people in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones. We would appreciate more focus on our part of the country--less East Coast and Atlanta news. Even California seems like an after-thought. We have the local news but CNN and other cable news provide a national and global perspective. Though Anderson Cooper gives a New Yorker's insight into the nightly news, he would also be great as an anchor for a West Coast version of the New York/Atlanta/Washington shows with his informal and edgy approach. We crave breaking news here; not re-plays. M. Cox, Arizona time zone.

[Over the hill in Bend, OR]

I switched from CNN to Fox News. Best thing I ever did! Larry King is ok. He is fun to watch to see what he forgets. Anderson is just plain dull, Lou is not bad, Wolf needs to go to pasture, and Campbell is a snooze. Nancy Grace is more interesting than all three of them combined. I will never watch MSNBC..

[Daws]

Let's face it (as Roland Martin would say, "Look, let's face it, the deal is this here"), CNN is flailing and failing. Even Wolf Blitzer is playing the Hype Game, increasingly using of the rhetoric of urgency on non-urgent stories. Like Cooper, he constantly interrupts guests before they've finished their sentences -- not because they're running out of time, but to hype the pace of the show. Compared to a year ago, the style of today's CNN owes more to "World's Most Amazing Police Videos" than to broadcast journalism. With their constant use of bright red zooming graphics, "sounds-of-urgency" sound effects and melodramatic music stingers (often mixed so loudly that they drown out the voices), CNN essentially cries wolf fifteen times an hour. No wonder so many viewers are getting turned off -- and tuning out.

[William Moore]

If CNN execs read all these viewer comments they might be confused, inasmuch as they seem to be all over the map. I watch all the cable news channels and the obvious overarching theme is that CNN (and MSNBC) have climbed aboard the Democratic-Progressive Express Train, and simply left most of us in this country standing on the platform at the station. (Note to execs: for guidance look who has double you ratings, and climbing.) Other obvious irritations: Constantly identifying David Gergan as a one-time speechwriter for this or that former President, as though he's the most even-handed sage anybody could possibly find, while usually presenting a quite reasoned opinion supporting a left-wing conclusion (this just looks sneaky..just be honest and identify him as a Progressive Strategist/Professor); Rick Sanchez' endless, maniacal huffing and puffing about silly Twitter and Myspace messages (it comes off as childish, like an after school special), and Jack Cafferty's teleprompted outrages..(funny how they always lean in one political direction.) Anderson? Who knows. Seems like a nice fellow..but the occasional bit of showbiz press, and, for some reason his conversations with Erica Hill, make me flip the channel. (But these two folks, in particular, seem like nice straightforward people and I wish them success.) Slowly, so as to avoid embarrassment, CNN should start staffing itself with a more centrist group of folks who lean equally left and right. This includes writers, producers, and all the rest, or else I forsee continuing loss in its credibility.

[R. Scott]

Finally viewers are realizing that there is nothing more important in news covered by AC 360 than AC himself. From the time Cooper covered Hurricane Katrina by turning the camera on himself, reporting the stench of a water-soaked New Orleans, viewers should have smelled a rat posing as a journalist. But don't blame Gloria's boy. Blame Jonathon Klein who saw Cooper as the anchor of the future.
I am so tired of Networks and local stations trying to make us believe that young sexy women really are seasoned journalists and the offspring of the well-healed are not given preference (apologies to the son of Tim Russert, but not to NBC).
But most of the blame for the rise of impostors lies with us. We like cool names; Soledad O'Brien, a good moniker for an Irish-Mex restaurant maybe. Wolf Blitzer (see Operation Desert Storm), women named Campbell and men named Shepard. Broadcast news doesn't need the internet to shoot it between the eyes. It is doing a fine job of shooting itself.

[Mindy]

AC 360 is trying to attract younger viewers, which would explain the "lighter" material they cover, like the latest Hollywood actress scandal or Michael Phelps smoking weed or the Miss Cali thing. It would also explain the more casual interaction between Anderson and Erica Hill (co-anchor) which I think is adorable.That's the type of stuff young people like to see. I personally have no problem with the "lighter stuff". But I do have a problem with some of the other segments, I do wish they'd give some topics more depths and spend longer on "digging deeper" on important news. I do agree they seem to focus on stories that seem more entertaining. well, I like entertainment so I guess that's why I don't have a problem with AC360 as much. But I do sometimes really want REAL AND RAW news, (unbiased and deep coverage), nothing can fill this inner need but the BBC.

true, Anderson does seem very rushed when he presents his show. I don't understand why...but I like it...I think it gives the viewer a sense of urgency and excitment, but sometimes it's just too annoying. The style of the show too is extremely fast-paced, jumping from one thing to the next, sometimes that's good bc I get bored quickly... sometimes it's very disappointing. It seems to me that the producers do this on purpose though since they are trying to attract a younger audience. Young people love fast paced shows.

anderson isn't as objective as one may think, because although he doesn't voice his opinion on the air, there is a lot of non-verbal communication that speaks volumes, and there is a lot of subtle hinting and reverse psychology. To say that AC360 only presents the facts is completely untrue. How blind can one be ?

They are probably aware of the fact that the show could have more depth, I mean don't they read viewers feedback ? But I don't know if everything that is written here or on other blogs and the feedback they get is necessarily how everyone else in the country/world feels about Ac360.

Ratings don't prove anything. Maybe it's just that people are tired of watching politics, it's been so draining during the elections so maybe people are turned off and prefer watching something a little less depressing.

[Esra]

I think the stories are quite good. I have noticed that many people seem to be interested in stroies of Carrie Prejean‎. Wolf Blitzer is doing the same job as AC. I like the show.

[Barry O'Brien]

To me Aaron Brown's newscast was appointment television--thoughtful, insightful and intelligent. So much for CNN NewsLight...

[Karen Day]

My friends and I use to love Anderson's show. Now the show is boring. Stopped watching it every night especially since the show has not been having David Gergen on as much. When we watch it is to hear what David Gergen has to say. However, the show doesn't let him speak that much anymore. When he is on it is no more more then 2 minutes. They need to let David Gregen speak and tell us when he is going to be on. That will bring viewers back! Just in the last week my friends and I discovered Gergen has a facebook page. We have been finding out from him when he is going to be on and we now are tuning back in. Thanks David fro caring about your fans who want to hear you speak!

[Rachel]

dye your hair AC! maybe that's why people are tuning out!

[kaydee]

Anderson did a good job with Katrina?! An anchor, journalist, a sportsman cannot sit on their laurels. They need to be consistently good. And sorry, Anderson Cooper is not. Really, he is rarely good. And goodness me so boooorrring!

[Anonymous]

I watch CNN and Anderson Cooper 360, and I thought his show is doing good. I thought CNN seem to do pretty good until they hire Campbell Brown. She seems to be bias and interrupt guests, so I don't know why CNN doesn't believe that it's Campbell Brown that's making them in fourth place.

[Fernando]

the best thing I heard from Anderson Cooper was the creation of his segment: "keeping them honest". The first shows he did had some bite. In this days mainly is the description of the problem, naming organizations, but no names being mentioned. If somebody is dishonest, I want names on the screen. I want the victims talking.
Also, instead of mentioning news every 15 seconds, why not cutting 75% of the pseudo-news and having longer segments, something deeper.

[Eric Lemmons]

It's no mystery why AC's ratings are in a downward spiral. He has moved from his original "down the middle" orientation to the left, or even far left.
For example, on his show tonight he continually hammerd home the idea that there is racism behind the noisy town hall meetings. Even when Senator Mccaskill repeatedly expressed her opinion that there is not a racist motivation behind the dissent.
Cooper also kept hammering the "death panel" issue that Sarah Palin raised, trying to paint Senator Grassley as saying the "same thing". Mr. Grassley did no such thing. He never used the word "death panel", and he merely expressed the idea that there shouldn't be such panels between the patient and his doctor. AC kept referring back to Mr. Grassley as agreeing with Sarah Palin on this.
I really liked AC when he first came on the air. He was a breath of fresh air, and he played it pretty much down the middle. Now he is becoming another liberal media personality, only slightly less rude than Kieth Oberman, who believe it or not, has actually beat AC in the ratings recently. Who would believe he would sink this low? For goodness sake, Kieth Oberman beat him.

[Eareks]

Andersen Cooper 360 is a C R A P!
Boring, unfunny, stiffed.
Is really CNN so hopeless is better anchors sellection?
GBA!
AMEN